This chapter is brought to you by Zondra. Enjoy :)
CHAPTER 12 –Knight in shining armour to the rescue?
“You just get ready, Ms Gupta” Arnav replied to Khushi’s question with the smile of someone who could see all his plans falling into place, just as he had anticipated.
“Rea-ready?” Khushi stammered, her mind conjuring up images of her nightmares where she was running from Arnav, and he always caught her.
“Yes, Ms Gupta. Get ready. I will pick you up tomorrow morning.” Arnav replied with cool detachment in his voice, when mentally he was congratulating himself on his success at getting the girl. His sense of achievement at her acquiescence surprised him, because he had had more beautiful, famous and experienced woman that this Khushi Kumari Gupta but he had never felt this level of satisfaction when they agreed to his demands, as he was feeling now. Maybe it was because she had been resisting him. Maybe it was because he had not had a challenge from a woman in a long time. Maybe because no woman had said no to him in, well, forever. He had enjoyed the chase. And he knew he would enjoy devouring her too.
Upon hearing that he intended to pick her from her home, Khushi panicked and cried out: “No, please. Do not come here. I will come and meet you up. At any place you choose.”
Arnav knew why she was asking this and he agreed:
“Okay, then,” He started, “you can come meet me at the Café which is found on the main road just two streets away from your house. Be there at nine tomorrow morning. Okay?” He asked, wanting to confirm that she would not get out of the deal.
Khushi answered in the affirmative. With a terse reply: “Good. I’ll see you”, Arnav hung up, leaving Khushi staring unseeingly at the mobile in her hand.
She was in shock and she had not yet come to terms with what she had just agreed to. Her mind was working overtime trying to imagine what will happen to her tomorrow morning. Her heart was racing, and she was scared of what would happen. She was so lost in her thoughts that in took her a few minutes to realise that her family were talking very loudly in the sitting room.
Khushi listened to the voices, and realised that her parents, Buaji and Payal were arguing about her. The elders were talking of throwing her out, while Payal was trying to convince them not to. She was threatening that she would leave with Khushi if they threw her out.
Suddenly Khushi’s bedroom door opened, swung back and crashed on the wall with the force that Buaji pushed it. Khushi saw her aunt striding angrily towards her, so she got up from her seated position on the bed and began:
“Buaji, what..”
She was promptly interrupted by her aunt who pointed her finger at her and said:
“Do not dare offer a justification. We do not want to hear anything. We all saw the video of you coming out of that awful man’s room. We have decided that before the world wakes up tomorrow and comes to question us, we want you out of here. Right now!”
Khushi looked to her parents for support, but she saw written on their facial expressions that they would not help her. She asked the three adults:
“Where will I go at this hour?” Khushi knew she had to leave the house to go with that Devil Raizada, but she was not ready. She thought she had till the next day. Having her family asking her to leave like this was like a resounding slap; it left her numb and trembling. But the adults of her family were not movable on this point; they wanted her out of the house right away!
Payal came to Khushi, held Khushi’s cold hands in her own and said: “I will not let you leave, Khushi.”
“Shut up, Payaliya. We have decided, and you can do nothing about it” Garima answered coldly. “We are doing this for you, my dear. She is already ruined. No one will marry her. And if she stays here, then no one will marry you either. She is going now and you are under my oath not to oppose our decision. If you insist on going with her, then know that you will see the dead face of your mother!” Garima was absolutely determined to get Khushi out of the house.
“Amma!!” Payal answered in shock. She could not believe it. She could not believe that her mother would put her under such an oath. She was torn between loyalty to her sister and fear for her mother’s life. She turned helpless eyes to Khushi’s face and there, in her sister’s teary eyes, Payal read understanding and acceptance.
“Okay, enough drama now. Let’s get her to leave” Buaji said as she held Khushi by the elbow and began pulling her towards the door.
Buaji marched Khushi till the front door, then pushed her out and closed the door in her face. Khushi stood there in the dark on the doorstep of the place that she had called home for a few days only. She kept staring at the door, numb, but with dry eyes. She was still too much in shock to cry. It seemed like she could not take all that had just happened to her.
She walked away from the doorstep, and stepped onto the road. She walked aimlessly, and unaware. She was just instinctively putting one foot in front of the other, not knowing and not caring where she was walking to.
She saw again and again the faces of her parents and Buaji; she heard their words again. Her Amma and Buaji wanted her out of their lives. Even her Babuji had just stood there, stony-faced as they had thrown her out. He had looked so disappointed in her, and this hurt her more than her mother’s anger and her aunt’s hurtful words.
She was walking on the road, so lost in her thoughts that she did not realise a car had stopped right next to her. She was brought back to her senses by someone holding her by her upper arms and shaking her lightly. She was straight away brought out of her nightmare and looked up into deep brown eyes framed by long, black eyelashes. The anger in Arnav’s eyes as he looked down at her brought her back to herself, and she crashed down to Earth as she finally grasped that her family had thrown her out.
“What the hell do you think you are doing? Walking alone on the streets of Delhi at this hour? Have you gone completely mad?” Arnav asked her coldly, anger dripping from every word, his eyes burning her with their intensity. His fingers gripped her arms as he shook her, trying to get a reaction from her. The way her hazel eyes glanced up at him with vulnerability and fragility overflowing from them gave him the sudden urge to gather her in his arms and kiss it all away from her eyes.
This thought shocked Arnav, and he suddenly let go of her. With the sudden lack of his support, Khushi swayed on her feet, making Arnav swear and put his arm around her for support. This sudden and unexpected show of concern surprised Khushi and she looked at him in gratitude, the dazed look still on her face.
The she remembered that he had asked her something, so she attempted to explain:
“My parents.. They.. They threw me out of..” Said Khushi in a trembling, disbelieving voice.
Arnav interrupted with “I know. Your sister gave me a call and told me to look for you.”
“Jiji? How? She does not know your number” Khushi could not believe that Payal would call him to look for her.
“She called from your phone. Okay? Now come.” He replied, as brief as always. He turned her towards his SUV and opened the door. Khushi turned to him, and asked:
“With you? Where..?”
At that, Arnav gave a humourless smile and replied : “My place, of course.” He helped her inside and closed the door after her. He then walked around the front of the vehicle and got into his seat, all the while Khushi’s eyes stayed glued to him.
Arnav fastened his seat belt then did the same with hers. He looked her in the face and asked : “Are you okay?” in a gentle concerned voice. This was the first time Khushi heard him talk to her in a gentle manner. She nodded and then looked away from his eyes which seemed to hypnotise her all the time.
Arnav seemed satisfied with that answer, for he started the car and drove.
“You know, if you were so impatient to come to me, you could just tell me. Why leave your house in the middle of the night? We had already decided to meet tomorrow morning anyway. You could not wait, was that it? Hmm?” He asked her, with a half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
At his attempt to turn the situation around using humour, Khushi felt a tear roll down her cheek. And then another followed it. And another. In seconds, her eyes were gushing out a torrent of tears. His words had broken the dam but Arnav was unaware that his joke would make her cry; he was lost for words and did not know what to do. He stopped the car at the side of the road and tried talking to her:
“I am sorry, I was trying to lighten to situation. Don’t cry.” He told her in an awkward voice. He did not really know how to deal with tears. None of his previous women cried, at least none cried real, honest tears like her. Khushi’s tears had turned to huge sobs, and she was trembling uncontrollably. At this point Arnav was completely lost; he had no idea what he should do. So he just undid both their seat belts and instinctively pulled her onto his lap, and he held her in his arms. Khushi protested at first, resisting his tug. But then her despair at her situation made her give in to him and she just let him hold her in his tight embrace. Her face was against this warm throat and she sobbed as he just held her quietly.
Arnav let her cry, knowing she had just had a few hard blows. His gentleness and care surprised him. He was unaware of why he was offering comfort to her, but it felt strangely like the right thing to do in the circumstances.
After some minutes, the storm of Khushi’s tears passed. Her sobs stopped and she sniffled a couple of times. When she calmed down, Khushi became aware that she was sitting in his lap, Devil-Raizada’s lap. She jerked away from him, breaking his hold on her. Panicked, she scrambled back into her seat, and looked at him with incomprehension.
“Are you okay?” Arnav asked her again, this time with more compassion than the first time. Amidst her sniffles, Khushi nodded to him. Arnav handed her his handkerchief, which she wordlessly took.
Khushi was aware of his gaze on her. She could hear her heart beating loudly. And suddenly she could see the way his brown eyes looked so deep with concern. She was completely shattered by her family’s behaviour towards her; and now by his own. How come a man who had been blackmailing her was being so full of concern, she could not imagine.
Arnav fastened her seat belt, then his. All the while, Khushi’s eyes remained on his face, only looking away when he glanced at her and their eyes met. Arnav then started the car and told her:
“Payal told me you left home without your things, and she asked me to bring you to pick up your stuff. You will not need any of those while with me, but she insisted that I bring you around.”
“Please, no. I cannot go again. My Amma and Babuji and Buaji will..” Khushi began, in a panic.
“Relax, Khushi. It’s okay. You can stay in the car, and I’ll get your stuff from your sister. I will not make you face them again. It’s okay, relax”, Arnav said to her, in a reassuring voice, that once more surprised both of them.. Neither of the two knew why he was suddenly so kind to her. Both concluded it was pity because he saw her cry. The rest of the drive to her parent’s house passed in silence.
When finally they arrived, Arnav got down with a “Stay here, I’ll be right back” to Khushi. Khushi watched as he walked to the front door and knocked. Buaji opened and was shocked to see him. He walked inside, past a shocked Buaji. Five minutes later, Payal came out and walked towards the car. She opened to door and hugged Khushi, then handed her a carrybag, saying :
“It has your personal stuff. He said you will not need it, but I wanted to give you it all and talk to you. He is scolding them for throwing you out. He has scared them; they are properly chastised. He was so angry and worried when I called him, I was surprised. He seems to care about you. He is rude and arrogant and I despise him. But you say you like him. And he obviously cares about you. I don’t know how that will work out, and I am scared for you. Please do not go with him. You and I can go away together and we will..”
At this Khushi stopped her:
“No Jiji, you stay at home. Amma and Babuji need you. Today they are angry with me. But do not worry, one day they will understand. And I have to go with him. I told you that I like him. I have to go with him”
Khushi was explaining to Payal when Arnav came back. He formally thanked Payal, then got into his seat. Payal and Khushi hugged each other and cried. Their goodbyes were all the more painful since they were both unaware of what the future would be like. Khushi did not know if she would see her sister again; she was unaware if the Devil-Raizada would allow it. And Payal was so heartbroken for her sister’s sake, and she was worried about Khushi going with that man. Both sisters said goodbye painfully and bitterly. Finally, Payal went back to their doorstep from where she watched as the big SUV drove out of their lane. The sisters waved to each other, amidst tears, till they could no longer see each other.
Arnav had witnessed all of that patiently and silently. As they drove, he did not speak a word, having retreated once more in his own personal turmoil-filled thoughts. Khushi also did not speak one word, though she yearned to know where he was taking her; and what would happen then.
Both were lost in their own thoughts; wondering about what was going to happen next. They were silent but were painfully aware of each other. Khushi could not stop her eyes from glancing at his strong, long fingers on the wheel and while changing gears. Such strong hands and powerful arms, that had been surprisingly gentle when they held her while she had cried. His face, as she saw, was as if set in granite; there was such an expression on his face from which none could ever guess what he might be thinking of. His eyes were well guarded beneath those lowered eyelids, his eyelashes serving as a veil, hiding his eyes and their expressions.
Arnav knew Khushi was staring at him. He was aware of her every movement, glance, breath. He could see his presence made her nervous and at the same time his presence quickened her heartbeat and breath. He could see her heartbeat in the hollow of her neck... He was watching her in his mirror, without her knowledge. He could hear her shallow, rapid breaths. If he were to follow his instincts, he would pull up the car at the side of the road and ravish her right there. But he knew she was too fragile right now, so he held himself in check. His unexpected concern for this girl totally had him surprised.
Both of them contemplated their future, one with dread, the other with mounting impatience and excitement. Neither was aware what would happen in the next few days. As they drove on in the quiet night, they were unaware about the extent to which their lives would be completely changed.
