Hues of Love

Part 14

"Arnav, I am pregnant with your child."

That one revelation from her side held the potential to completely change his priorities and rantings of the heart. The heart, which once belonged to Rati without any complaint, sought paint Rati's image with a hue of hatred and bestow his affections upon the woman who uttered the sentence he yearned to hear so much that it set his loyalty to his wife and his love for her aside.

The situation seemed to wreck havoc on his nerves. On one side of his conscience was painted with guilt for causing agony to his first love and on the other side stood his bruised ego and pride which danced to the tunes of madness arising from the triumph underlying Khushi's words- he had managed to accomplish what he was refused and a part of him considered it as a perfect payback for her betrayal. Khushi's words had also managed to help reach clarity about his marriage and love.

"I will call you back in a while," said Arnav into the receiver of his phone, his voice betraying no emotion to the one listening to it.

"Rati, I need you to sign the divorce papers. You might have been hurt in this marriage but I have been cheated upon ruthlessly. You pushed me to a point that my priorities have shifted and I am serious regarding them," he said, making Rati turn to look at him in anger.

"How would I not know how serious you are regarding your priorities, Arnav? After all, I have been a victim of them ever since our wedding. I refuse to fall a victim to your priorities once again. Everything is not lost. We can work on our marriage again. I will never look at another man again," she vowed.

She had not been taking antidepressants throughout her married life to see the end of her marriage. She knew that her complaints could break her marital home and that was the reason she sought her solace in someone's arms. She was forced to choose between her pain of betraying him or falling a victim to the dark demons of her past which never ceased to haunt her. Is her sin of choosing less pain for herself so horrendous that she would be deprived of the only true love she has in her life?

"What can you do? You cannot just ignore a divorce petition," he argued, losing his patience for not being able to join Khushi in the moment of celebration.

"I will challenge this in court," she said, taking a deep breath.

"Do whatever you want. I am leaving," he spat, deciding not to continue arguing with Rati as it was not going to yield fruitful results for him.

He ignored her desperate calls to stop him and made him way to his car to reach the destination of the path he had chosen- Khushi Gupta.

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Khushi's House,

Arnav was surprised to note the presence of Rachna when she opened the door of Khushi's home. He was looking forward to see the woman herself and his face revealed his excitement to meet her.

"Rachna?" he questioned, surprise etched into his features as the saner part of his mind reminded that Rachna was a gynecologist and that might be the reason of her presence.

"I hope you have your divorce papers signed, Arnav. I am not going to let you play with Khushi's feelings," she countered, as she allowed him inside.

"Why would I play with her feelings? I am very much aware about the depth of her feelings and respect them from the bottom of my heart," he answered, guilt gnawing at his insides as the emotion which pushed him into Khushi's arms made its presence known through memories.

"I want to trust Khushi's trust on you, Arnav. But I have seen your attachment towards Rati. Such type of attachment can only blind the logic. I don't want Khushi to be taunted by everyone that she caused a wedge in your marriage when she was never at fault. The contract declares her to be the mother of the unborn only in the case of your divorce. I don't want someone like Khushi who loves children to be away from her own child. If I realize that you had played with her, I will make sure that you regret it every minute of your life," she warned, moving away towards the living room where Khushi was seated and not letting Arnav answer her.

The strength of regret in his thoughts intensified but he could do nothing about it. The satisfaction he enjoyed when the flame of his vengeance towards Rati for cheating on him was extinguished was delirious. The sadistic pleasure did not allow him the courtesy of making up to his mistakes.

"Khoosi," he greeted as he entered into her line of sight making her get up from her seated position.

"I will leave you both for some privacy," said Rachna, moving upstairs into the guestroom, but not before giving a warning look to Arnav.

Khushi fidgeted with her fingers while staring at them without a word. The pregnancy glow on her face made her look more ethereal than ever, making Arnav lose his breath. She was the one who loved him without any limits and any expectations. She was the one who fulfilled the biggest dream of his life, the mother of his child- Khushi.

The mere thought that he was going to be a father was beautiful beyond words. He took baby steps towards Khushi, making her look upto him. A weak and sweet smile played on her lips while awkwardness floated in her hazel orbs.

He gently cupped both her shoulders and gave his first smile since weeks.

"Thank you so much for giving me the best gift in the world, Khushi. I will eternally be thankful to you for this," he said, his voice shaking with emotions.

His hands traveled northwards to cup her jawline and brought her face close to his. Admiring the gentle blush splashed across her warm cheeks, he placed a gentle kiss on her partition as she held onto his palms with a smile dancing on her lips, all worries forgotten.

The remedy of their every worry lied in the arms of each other, but will the two star-crossed lovers embrace each other or spurn away the advances of love to protect themselves from the onslaught of other demons?