"Nannav, Masi said she didn't call me! Why'd you say she called me?" NK questions curiously while strolling into Arnav's room, breaking the undisturbed silence.
Arnav shoots his cousin a quick glance while his fingers keep typing on his laptop. Unbothered to make up another lie, he ignores the question and shifts his focus on the screen again. "I'm busy, NK,"
NK frowns and shrugs it off, rolling up the sleeves of his leather jacket. He looks around the room, before leisurely taking a seat on the bed. That too, right next to a now very annoyed Arnav who's still typing away on his laptop, sitting on the edge of the green recliner.
"Can I help you?" Arnav impatiently asks, his monotonous tone subtly giving away his irritation.
NK scoots closer, resting his right hand on his chin, as if in deep thought. "You know, Nannav, I've noticed that whenever I talk to Khushi ji or make her laugh, you get mad and start yelling at either her or me,"
Arnav's fingers come to a slow halt, and he stops typing to look at his cousin. For some, crazy reason, he suddenly feels like a schoolboy getting caught by the principal.
"Be honest with me – do you not like Khushi ji? Is that the problem?" NK asks, genuinely worried.
Arnav's initial reaction is a sigh of relief. So NK doesn't know about how he feels for Khushi. But then, the relief turns into utter bewilderment. Did his cousin just ask him if he dislikes Khushi Kumari Gupta? Unbelievable!
How does he tell him that all the yelling, the fighting, the jealously isn't because he dislikes Khushi, it's because he likes her way too much. Too much to endure for his sanity.
He doesn't say this though, because he doesn't want the first person to know about his feelings for Khushi to be NK, of all people. No way in hell.
"I don't have time for this, NK," Arnav quickly replies, breaking out of his reverie and resuming typing angrily away on his keyboard.
"Nannav, mere bhai, seems like you're hiding something from me. Brothers don't keep secrets man!" NK playfully punches Arnav on his arm, to which he earns a stone cold glare. He retracts his arm, purses his lips and nervously laughs. "Okay bro, I'll leave, tumhare naak se kooa aa raha hai!" (There's a well coming out of your nose)
Arnav sighs, although he secretly enjoys whenever his cousin mixes Hindi words up. It can be endearing – only sometimes. "Kooa nahi, dhooa." (Not "well," it's "smoke")
"Yes, yes, dhooa! See you later Nannav," NK leaves his room, still wondering about why his cousin always seems so weird around Khushi.
It doesn't make sense if Nannav dislikes Khushi ji. On one hand, they are always arguing or fighting, but on the other hand, I've seen the way they look at each other. NK, mere bhai, something is definitely black in the daal. He ponders, remembering all the interactions between them during Payal and Akash's wedding that gave him hints about what may be going on between the two.
He remembers the Sangeet rehearsal, when he practiced waltzing with Khushi but instead of looking at him, her eyes were stuck to Arnav, who was gazing right back. He remembers the night of the Sangeet, when they danced to Teri Meri and looked like a hero and heroine straight out of a Bollywood movie. Of course, it could be nothing, but what if there's more to it?
Then he recalls the memory of when Arnav came into his room at the hospital, asking all sorts of questions about love.
"Well, this is kind of personal," Arnav slowly said.
"Go for it, Nannav, tell me already!"
"Have you ever been in love?"
NK's expression went from curious to surprised to totally and completely amused.
"Nannav aur pyaar ka chakkar? (Nannav and the matter of love?) This is definitely a first!"
Arnav rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore NK's teasing tone.
"What does love feel like? I mean, how do you know if you're in love?" He asked nervously.
NK sat up excitedly, rolling a hand through his hair. "You've come to the right person my friend – they call me Love Guru,"
Arnav raised one eyebrow at that, secretly amused. But before he could say anything else, NK continued without a cue.
"Love is the most beautiful feeling in the world. It's what poems, books and movies are made of,"
Arnav nodded non-commitedly, not knowing what to say to that.
"Tell me Nannav," NK said, shifting closer in curiosity. "Have you ever felt the winds blow out of nowhere all of a sudden? Have you ever felt like everything around you is a blur? Have you ever felt like you could actually hear your heart beat?"
Arnav looked to a distance, a shadow of a smile on his lips.
He shook himself out of his thoughts.
"Alright, thanks for the advice NK," He smiled wide, standing up to leave.
"Wait, wait – at least tell me who the lucky girl is?"
Arnav smirked before silently walking away.
That day NK had been the happiest to turn into Love Guru for his Nannav, but he never got to find out who the girl was. The girl who instigated these feelings of romance within his cold hearted bhai.
Wait a minute... What if... What if it's Khushi ji!?!
He stops mid track, right in front of Devyani, who stares at him with inquisitiveness and concern. "NK bitwa? Sab theek hai na?" (Is everything alright?)
I think Nannav is in love with Khushi ji! The words almost spill out of his mouth, but he catches them. No, he needs to keep this to himself for now.
"Ji, Nani ji! Everything is cool!"
Devyani smiles and nods, and NK quickly walks towards his room.
He can't lie to himself – he has admired Khushi from the very first day, ever since he showed her his ridiculous moves when he mistook her for the strict dance master ji. They easily became good friends who shared the same sense of humor, but he didn't realize when that admiration turned into a crush. He really does like her, but then again, who wouldn't? Khushi ji is just so wonderful.
Which now brings him to the matter at hand. He needs to know if Arnav is in love with Khushi. And does she feel the same way? If this is the case, he doesn't want to get in between them. NK has a crush on her, sure, but Arnav asked him about love that day at the hospital. It's just standard bro code – you don't pursue the girl you have just a crush on while your brother is in love with the same girl – especially if the girl feels the same way.
So, NK decides that he needs to know how they both feel towards each other. Is Khushi ji the girl Nannav is in love with? And if so, does she feel the same way?
There is no way either of them will confess to their feelings if directly asked. How can he make sure then? Think, NK, think!
After a few minutes of brainstorming, a plan finally strikes him.
---
It has been a few days since Payal and Khushi's visit to Shantivan, and things are getting better. Nani no longer has to send food up to Anjali's room, since Anjali now comes down to join everyone for meals. The strength of her bond with her family outweighed her desire for isolation and quietude. Initially, Anjali knew she needed some time to herself to gather the courage to move forward, but soon enough she understood that the only way she can do that is if she allows herself the peace she knows she deserves. Wallowing in her room in silence will only keep her imprisoned within the painful past, and she decided that that was not the life that she wanted. Anjali wanted a life full of happiness and possibilities, for her and her daughter.
Sitting here at the dining table now, Anjali smiles as Arnav feeds her a morsel of fruit, as he usually does in the mornings whenever he has the time.
"Chote,"
"Yes, Di?"
Anjali gestures him to pause feeding her the fruits, before Arnav places the bowl down.
"Aap hume khush dekhna chahte hain na?" (You want to see me happy, right?) Anjali tenderly asks, placing a hand on her brother's cheek, while the other rests on her belly.
"Of course, Di," He answers immediately, nodding. "Why are you asking?"
"I know everyone put Akash and Payal ji's wedding on hold because of me, and I know this is because you all care about me so much. But Chote," She says, holding his hand. "Nothing would make me happier than to see them get married,"
Arnav softly smiles at her selflessness, although for him, his sister's well being came first and foremost. "Di, are you sure? We don't have to go ahead with it now if-"
"Please, Chote. This is what will make me happiest," Anjali reassures him, nothing but truth in her words. Seeing her family happy, spending this time with them – it is the one thing that can heal her spirit.
He nods, and Anjali continues. "Ek aur baat. Uss din, havan adhoora reh gaya tha, usse theek se poora karna hoga, Akash aur Payal ji ke liye," (One more thing. That day, we could not fulfill the havan correctly. It needs to be completed, for Akash and Payal ji.)
Lips parted, Arnav realizes that he had forgotten about the havan entirely. It now comes to him, how everyone had been seated for the havan, but the ghee was missing. And that was when Khushi had volunteered to go get the ghee, and NK went with her...
The accident had erased all other events of that night for him. His cousin had suffered a fractured leg which thankfully, Dr. Patel had said would not take long to heal.
But Khushi? Her injuries were deep, multiple, and grave. That fateful night, he thought he had lost her. He almost had. Memories of that night are laced with the anxiety of not being able to find her, the vision of her unconscious in a hospital bed, of hearing her whisper his name, her body wrapped in blood soaked bandages. The gut wrenching agony is what defined that night in his mind, as well as the days that followed after, until he knew she was out of danger. The earth shattering realization, that it is impossible for him to imagine his life without her. How had it come to this, he had wondered many a times, while he spent sleepless nights walking across the hallways of Fortis, right in front of her room.
"I understand, Di. I'll arrange for the havan right away."
Anjali thanks him, and his heart swells seeing his sister smile. He sees that familiar twinkle in her eye returning, and knows that everything will be alright.
---
A/N: Be prepared for lots of nok jhok in the next chapter ;)
- Rain
P.S. According to episode 178, Garima had mentioned that ghee from the girl's home is an important part of the havan. Khushi never returns with the ghee in this story due to the accident actually happening. So, in this case, I think Anjali and the rest of the family would have wanted to redo it correctly a second time.
P.P.S. NK as Love Guru is one of my most favorite things ever LOL :D