The overcrowded Gandhi Chowk was driving Abhay nuts after his peaceful visit from the Khajjar Lake and the Rock Garden of Dalhousie. They were sitting at a coffee stall, taking a small break on their way towards St. Francis Church.
Khusi was standing a bit far away from the father daughter duo, enthusiastically making a video of her surroundings with a wide beam on her face. Abhay tried to help Yuti, blowing away the heat from her cup of coffee but she swatted away his hands with a scowl.
"I am not a child, papa. I can blow air off my coffee on my own," she chided and turned away from Abhay.
Abhay shook his head and looked away, his gaze halting at Khusi and her infectious smile , making his heart miss a beat. It's been 5 years since they knew each other but every day he felt like he was falling for her more and more.
Heaving a dreamy sigh, Abhay grinned at an over-excited Khusi who was recording a video of their tour. Everything else zoomed out for him as his eyes glazed all over Khusi, her hair flying in all directions because of the breeze, the tip of her nose red from the freezing cold, her lips pale pink. Was it possible to fall for someone all over again, everyday? Abhay wondered.
In the meantime, Yuti jumped down from her seat and dashed towards something which had caught her attention.
Khusi waved her hand in the camera, and shut it out, taking a deep breath. Her eyes stilled at Abhay who was gazing at her with so much adoration that she couldn't help but blush. With a shy smile on her face, she ambled towards the stall and took a seat beside the love of her life, who was still gazing at her with a gentle smile on his lips.
"Stop it, will you?" Khusi groaned and covered his eyes with her palms making Abhay chuckle at her shyness.
"Why should I? I have every right to stare at my wife," he whispered near her ears, sliding his fingers through her neck and leaving a small kiss below her ears. Khusi's neck warmed at Abhay's intimate gesture. He was so much into PDA that it drove her crazy sometimes.
Pulling away Abahy sipped his coffee as if he didn't just make Khusi flustered. "You are impossible," Khusi murmured before leaning into him and kissing his cheek, making Abhay grin at her.
"But you still love me."
"You bet I do."
Both of them laughed out loud at their interaction, totally unaware of Yuti who was striding towards them with a tiny creature in her arms.
"So, when are you planning on uploading this video?" Abhay asked, running his fingers through his hair, which was stiff, pointing towards her camera, making Khusi pursue her lips.
"I need to edit it first. There are so many raw clips on it and I look idiotic in some of them, babbling too much nonsense," Khusi grumbled, kicking at invisible pebbles.
"Vlogs are supposed to be raw."
"I know, but I feel like I am too camera conscious. I need a lot more practice to become more confident," she complained, leaning her head on Abhay's shoulder, hugging his arm.
"That's fine. You're not making the videos for competition but because you love posting stuff out there. And recording your daily activities makes you happy," Abhay mumbled, kissing Khusi's temple, making her glance up at him with a small smile.
Out of nowhere Khusi's eyes widened and she sat up straight "Where's Yuti!?"
Abhay's eyes widened and panic flooded in his nerves "Shit!" Before both of them could fret, a loud shriek reverberated around them.
"Khusi Ma, Papa . Look whom I found!" Yuti exclaimed, catching the duo's attention. Their head snapped towards Yuti who had a wide mischievous grin on her face, and a tiny pooch in her arms, who was constantly wagging its floppy tail.
Khusi eyes widened in glee at the sight of two adorable little eyes and the tiny snout. Pushing Abhay away she jumped down to take the little guy in her arms cooing at its cuteness, turning the anxious Abhay, panicked.
"Oh my god ! Look Abhay. How adorable is he. Look at these tiny pink paws," she cooed, talking in baby voices making the pup groan delightfully as Khusi rubbed his toe beans.
"Isn't he cute, Khusi Ma? He needs a shelter, he is dying out there," Yuti reasoned, looking up at her father with puppy eyes who was already glaring at her, his lip pressed in a thin line.
"Really? Oh my god? Where is his mother, Yuti?" Khusi panicked and ambled away with the little pup on her shoulders , looking for the mother dog.
"He isn't coming home with us, Yuti. I have already told you a hundred times. No pets are allowed." Abhay's stern set voice didn't make Yuti waves for a single second. That cop tone might work on others, but not on her. He was a softie for her Khusi Ma and God be damned if she didn't use this opportunity to finally adopt a pet.
"Papa, we should learn to become more generous. He deserves a real proper home not to live on the streets. How will he even survive, don't be so heartless, please?" Yuti pleaded, trying to be as coercive as possible, but Abhay wasn't ready to listen.
Over the course of years, as Yuti grew up, Abhay had noticed a similar behaviour she shared with her biological father, Kaushik. Coercion. She was an expert in it, and knew how to be sly when the situation demanded.
"Absolutely no Yuti! Pets are a huge responsibility, something you aren't ready to take yet. "
"But you don't know that Papa! How will I become responsible if you don't let me!" Yuti stomped her feet reminding Abhay how he couldn't afford to lose his cool with her, or else Khusi would make him sleep on the couch, again.
"No ! We will talk about it later." Abhay insisted, shaking his head.
"But look how much Khusi Ma has grown attached to him." Yuti pointed at Khusi who was strolling towards them, giggling like a teenager while the little guy licked her face. Abhay's fist curled in annoyance at the pup's audacity. How dare he !
"No Yuti ! End of discussion," Abhay snapped when Khusi lightly pecked the puppy's snout, making Yuti smirk mischievously. His tone had caught Khusi's attention.
"What is going on here?" she enquired, making Yuti wiggle her eyebrows, which in turn irked Abhay more.
"Don't you think Khusi Ma, that the little guy deserves a forever home?" Yuti asked, giving her puppy dog eyes to Khusi, making her smile.
"Yes, he definitely does. I couldn't find the mother dog."
"Then we should take him with us back home. He will die out here alone."
"You're absolutely right Yuti," Khusi nodded and looked up at Abhay whose pissed off face had diminished but he still had a stern look.
"No. I ain't allowing that. Yuti is not going to look after him, and things will turn disastrous at home," Abhay argued, narrowing his eyes, his arms crossed at his chest.
"Oh c'mon Papa! You're being impossible. I already said I am going to take care of him."
Khusi glanced at the duo , who were throwing daggers at each other with their burning gazes, making her sigh out loud. She knew she needed to intervene.
"Abhay,?" she whispered, standing in between the father daughter, handing the pup to Yuti, who was happy to oblige.
"No, Khusi." Refusal was at the Abhay tongue.
"Why not? I think we should give Yuti this chance?" Khusi asked. She needed to know why he was so adamant on refusing. Abhay shook his head, his face scrunching in a scowl.
"I won't have your undivided attention anymore if he goes back home with us." Abhay grumbled, making Khusi speechless. She bit on her lower lip to control the laughter bubbling in her throat and shook her head.
"Seriously Abhay?" A teasing tone. Abhay turned his head away, making Yuti groan in annoyance.
"C'mon papa!"
"Yes, c'mon daddy," Khusi breathed, her lips centimeters away from Abhay's ears, making his head snapped back towards her, his dark with lust. His pupils dilated, making him groan as blood flew down his manhood at Khusi's sensually murmur.
"This isn't fair," he growled low in his throat, making Khusi bite her lips. She had already won the game.
"Yaaay! He's going back home with us." Yuti exclaimed, already aware how her Khusi Ma had performed her charms on her papa.
"I never said that!"
"You don't need to anymore. I can read your face better than the textbooks." Ignoring Abhay, Yuti scratched the pup's neck.
"You better prepare yourself to pay for Yuti's whim, tonight, '' Abhay grunted, making Khusi drag her fingers down his jacket cladded chest.
"I can't wait to pay." Khusi bit her lower lip, making Abhay slam his head on an imaginary wall. He scooped Yuti up in his arms along with the pup and sauntered away, grunting lowly, to buy a basket.
A giggle escaped past Khusi lips at the scene making her sigh in bliss. Slumping down back on her seat, she retreated her camera and opened a two days old video, and started preparing notes mentally on how to edit it.
After watching it for quite some time boredom dominated her senses and she put away her camera, rubbing her face. The weather was so icy, it was turning her face dry.
Khusi was casually watching her surroundings, inspecting the other tourists when the sight of a man caught her attention. He was standing tall, a few meters away from him with a child in his arms, a deep scowl attached to his face as he bitterly scolded the child. The boy wheezed and tears ran down the boy's cheek profusely.
"Can you not be such a brat? Your mother has gone to fetch food. Shut up for a minute and don't you dare cry again!" he threatened, the man's lip pulled back in a snarl and eyebrows furrowed deep in rage.
The mild shock Khusi had felt at the sight of the man vanished in thin air at his behaviour. Unable to remain a silent audience to the cruelty, she pushed herself on her feet and prowled towards them, ceasing in front of the man with the weeping baby boy in his arms .
"Do you mind?" Khusi forwarded her hands in front of him but before he could react, the baby jumped into her arms as if he couldn't wait to get away from his father.
Khusi didn't bother to look at the man anymore. Hopping him up in her arms she hummed a gentle tone and patted his back gently to calm him down. Needless to say, within a few minutes the boy was silent and was resting his head on Khusi's shoulder, suckling his thumb.
"That's how you handle a restless kid, not by shouting or yelling," she announced, passing an indifferent look to Bhaskar whose face was still a mixture of shock and wonder at the sight.
"Khusi? What a … how are you?" he stuttered, unable to believe his eyes.
"Excellent." She passed him a cold smile and continued humming, patting the baby's back from time to time.
"What are you … "
"Hey, I am bac … "
Before Bhaskar could finish his sentence, another familiar voice reached Khusi's ears, making her turn towards the woman, who looked nothing like she used to a few years back.
Clad in a loose lavender dress with a maroon hijab wrapped around her face, she was the exact opposite of the Sanjana, Khusi remembered from years back. The bright brown eyes had dulled and there were bags underneath them, yet she looked graceful in her attire.
Years back she had already realised that Bhaskar was more guilty than Sanjana. If a man can't resist temptations and give in so easily to another woman's charms, then it's his fault more. You can't love two people simultaneously.
"He was crying profusely. Here," Khusi handed the baby over to Sanjana who was too dumbfounded to utter a single sentence. That exact moment the baby turned to look at Khusi and her eyes widened. He had hazel eyes, matching none of his parents' eye color.
"Thank You," she mumbled and looked from Bhaskar to Khusi, unable to decide what to do .
"He's beautiful. Goodbye." Khusi didn't want to linger there anymore and was about to walk away when Bhaskar's voice stopped her.
"Khusi wait." She didn't want to, but for some reason, her feet stilled, though she didn't bother to turn back.
"I will meet you back at the hotel." The words reached Khusi's ears before she saw Sanjana ambling out of their sight, the baby giggling in her grasp. She passed a smile to the little kid, but it vanished the moment Bhaskar appeared in her line of vision.
"Hey, uh … what a coincidence. Um, how have you been?" Bhasked asked, his voice low, rubbing his neck, a frown attached to his eyebrows.
"As I said, excellent."
"No, I mean, really Khusi, how are you doing?" he countered, dubious of Khusi's words.
Her eyebrows furrowed at Bhaskar words. Did he think she was faking it infront of him? Boy, was he wrong.
"I would say that for the last time. Excellent and happy," she declared, with hands on her hips, her face a mask of cold indifference. Seeing Bhaskar infront of her didn't ignite anything in her. Not even rage or hatred. It was as if he was a stranger.
"Really? Cause I have been miserable," Bhaskar mumbled, pressing his nape, looking away from her.
She curtly nodded as if the specks of dust on a sidewalk would be more fascinating than conversing with him. She was least interested to know what had gone wrong or down in her ex-husband's life.
"Can we talk?"
Khusi's eyebrows furrowed. "About what?"
"I don't know. Life."
She shrugged, passing him an empty gaze making Bhaskar shrink back.
Heaving a deep sigh, Bhaskar opened his mouth but closed it again. The struggle was vivid in front of her eyes.
"Uh, I deeply regret what I did to you, Khusi. After you left things seemed to work out great for a few months. My parents, they were upset with me for impregnating a girl out of wedlock but after the first ultrasound, they accepted Sanjana. Things were pretty normal between us, although I was ecstatic with the baby on the way. Ma wanted us to get married but the real problem arrived when Sanjana was asked to talk to her parents."
Khusi was least interested to hear Bhaskar's side of the story but for some reason she kept her feet locked to the ground.
"None of us knew that she was from a different religion. I mean, her name didn't ever give that away. Her parents insisted that I convert for the wedding but I couldn't do that. So I declined, but they threatened to kill the baby."
Khusi's eyebrows jerked up though she wasn't really shocked. She had knew Sanjana was a muslim.
"That's when I had to decide as a father, and I chose my baby. I converted to keep the baby alive, but my parents, infact my whole family abandoned me. Well, my cousins weren't talking already, after they discovered that I cheated, but after the marriage even my parents left my side."
Khusi nodded, her lips pressed in a thin line. She didn't know what to say.
A wry chuckle left Bhaskar's throat before he continued. "Imagine my surprise when the baby came. A single look at his eyes, and I knew it wasn't mine. It belonged to her ex boyfriend."
Khusi bit the insides of her cheek, barely affected by the news. It was very obvious that the baby wasn't his.
Bhaskar's voice cracked and he cleared his throat to hide the pain. Taking a few deep breaths, he continued, not even looking up once at Khusi to check whether she was still there or not.
"I didn't want to believe it at first. I had thought maybe it was a miracle or something that he had different eye color. So I decided to do a DNA test behind Sanjana. Though I had nothing to hide. I mean, she knew she had fucked up. It was pretty obvious!" The malice in his voice for his wife didn't sit well with Khusi.
"And that's when my ultimate doom arrived." Tears ran down Bhaskar's cheeks, his voice heavy with pain and anguish. Khusi tried to feel something for the man who had meant so much to her once upon a time, but it was as if her heart didn't recognise the man anymore. He simply was a nobody to her now.
"After collecting the DNA reports and confirming my suspicion, my heart had shattered. I had already given up so much for that baby at that point of my life. My family, my religion, you … "
Khusi took a step back, grimacing when he mentioned her. She couldn't be more thankful to the Universe for giving her Abhay and Yuti.
"It was a rainy evening, and my head was haywire, jinxed by alcohol … I wasn't thinking straight, and had rammed with a truck on the highway."
"Oh ! Sorry to hear that." Khusi muttered on autopilot mode.
Bhaskar nodded, heavy breaths leaving his mouth. "I was in a coma for 3 days. with a spinal injury. Internal bleeding had made my condition worse. No one was there in the hospital room when I woke up, not even Sanjana. I was all alone in there, hurt and bruised."
Khusi kept her lips sealed. She didn't know what to say to him anymore. She had already said sorry once. Didn't want to repeat that again.
"Imagine my surprise when the doctor dropped the worst news on me the very next day." Khusi gulped saliva down her throat, his gaze making her uncomfortable. It was full of despair, hatred for the world.
"My spinal injury had led me into erectile dysfunction. I had become someone, not even my worst nightmare could conjure," Bhaskar wheezed, wiping away his tears with the back of his hands.
Khusi stood there stunned at the last few words he had uttered. Not even she had ever wished that for Bhaskar. She knew how much he was obsessed with having his own kid and God had snatched that opportunity away from him. Karma was indeed a bitch.
But she couldn't conjure up any empathy for Bhaskar in her heart though. It had hardened so much for the man standing in front of her, that not even him crying and sharing his sob story with her was enough to melt her heart.
She did feel bad for how he was treating the kid though. That baby didn't deserve his hatred.
Licking her teeth, Khusi breathed, reciting in her head what she wanted to say. " Well, sorry to hear all of that. I hope you're doing okay now. Anyway, a piece of advice. Don't take out your anger on the little boy. It's not his fault that he doesn't share blood with you. For him you're his father and Sanjana's husband now. You need to take that responsibility. You have already lost a lot to keep him, and now you're basically throwing it all away only because he doesn't carry your DNA? Well, it's your call to make, but in the end it will be your loss. We can't change the past but we can definitely make our future better."
Bhaskar was dumbfounded for a second to react at Khusi's statement. He was expecting a bit more sympathy from her at his losses, but she cared more about the boy than him, which was a blow to him.
"Well, uh. I don't know, she did betray me. Our marriage was wrong from the very beginning. It started with trickery and although I did feel a connection with the baby when Sanjana was still pregnant. But somehow that connection had faded away with every glance at him. Everytime I look, I feel like destiny is mocking me."
Khusi scratched her nose, snickering silently. She didn't want to talk to him anymore and was just about to turn and walk away from him, when a strong grip enveloped her waist pulling her into a warm and tensed hard body . Khusi's heartbeats accelerated as soon as she felt his touch even though there were layers of clothes between their skin.
"Hey sweetheart." Before Khusi could turn her head a warm pair of lips softly pressed into hers possessively, making her breath hitch.
Abhay took his sweet time kissing her, making Bhaskar gape at the couple with wide open eyes. His body turned rigid and involuntarily he took a step back.
It was only when Abhay realised Khusi was running out of oxygen did he pull back, only to press another kiss to her temple. Flushed, Khusi cupped Abhay's cheek with one hand and took a few deep breaths before reopening her eyes, and whispered, "Hey."
Bhaskar, who was visibly uncomfortable with their PDA, cleared his throat to catch Khusi's attention but neither Abhay nor Khusi could look away from each other. It was only after Abhay broke his intense gaze, when Khusi realised that Bhaskar was still standing there, his posture slouched.
Before Khusi could introduce Abhay to Bhaksar, Yuti's voice grabbed all three of their attention. "Khusi Ma, look! Papa bought this cute basket for Oreo!"
Khusi's gentle eyes dropped down to Yuti who had a bamboo basket filled with small blankets, and inside it was the puppy, resting. She dropped down on her knees in front of Yuti and gently kissed her head in glee.
"Oreo is going to be so happy. Good job Yuti."
Yuti giggled, covering her mouth but it seized when her eyes flew towards the unknown man standing in front of her parents.
"Who are you?" Her gaze hardened when she saw Bhaskar eyeing Khusi. Yuti was as possessive about Kushi as Abhay.
Khusi softly chuckled and pushed herself on her feet, leaning her back on Abhay, who happily accepted her body into his, caging her with a soft grip on her shoulder.
"Abhay, Yuti, meet Bhaskar. He's an old acquaintance. Bhaskar, that's my husband Abhay Mathur and my daughter, Yuti."
Bhaskar winced at Khusi's words, his miserable eyes snapping up at Abhay, who was glowering at him and then down at Yuti who peered up at him with an indifferent gaze. Unlike Abhay, Yuti didn't know Khusi's relationship with the man but she didn't like the vibes coming off of him.
"Hello." Bhaskar's voice was just over a notch, his gaze and shoulders dropped.
"Well, we shall take our leave now. Good bye Bhaskar," Khusi announced and turned her back on his, intertwining her fingers with Abhay's, who tightened his hold on her and ambled away with Yuti hopping beside them.
It wasn't until they were quite a few steps away from Bhaskar and Yuti was a few steps ahead of them, did Khusi nudged Abhay who bit his lips, a red flush appearing on his cheek.
"Sweetheart? I didn't know someone could be that possessive," she teased, making Abhat grunt lowly.
"I ain't, but I hate his very existence. If it wasn't for you holding me back, I would have bashed his face with my bare knuckles."
"There there, my brave knight in khaki uniform, you don't have to do that," Khusi murmured, holding up their inner joined hands and kissed his knuckles, making Abhay tighten his grip.
They were still on their way towards their car when Khusi's phone vibrated in her coat pocket and she took it out to check. Her steps came to a screeching halt, her eyes slightly expanding at the familiar old number which hadn't ever appeared in her mobile in the last 5 years. It wasn't saved in her contact list but she didn't need to save it when she knew it in my heart.
"Who is it?" Abhay asked, his eyes taking in Khusi's tensed face. She swallowed down a tight lump in her throat and exhaled a shaky breath, unable to decide whether to receive the call or not.
"Baba."
~ • • • • • ~
Finally uploaded the Epilogue after 6 long months 😅. I'll miss my lovely readers from this story. 🥲. You people have showered immense love on Khusi 🥰
I might upload a bonus chapter someday on how and when Khusi and Abhay got married and their Honeymoon, but not sure when.
Take care everyone, not sure when will I ever upload chapters from my other stories but I have plans on uploading Not Her on Booknet and Inkit, so if possible support it their as well ❤
Take care, I love you all 🤧🥺❤
See'Ya 💫❤