"Okay," he said. "I'll stay here."
Khushi jumped in excitement at his words and rushed to Buaji and gave her a big tight hug. "Buaji you're the best!!!" She placed a sound kiss on her cheek.
Then she ran to Payal and exclaimed, "Jiji I'm soo happy!!!!" Payal laughed as she hugged her little sister back with equal vigour. Still jumping in excitement, Khushi pulled back and placed a big kiss on Payal's cheek.
And then she ran to Arnav and threw her arms around him saying, "I'm so happy!!!!" while Arnav automatically wrapped his arms around her despite his surprise at her actions. Khushi placed a loud kiss on his cheek in her excitement before suddenly stepping back with a gasp, her hand covering her 'o' mouth as realisation sank in.
Or at least that's what she made it look like.
Passing a quick wink towards Arnav, catching him off guard, she ran off to her room, maintaining her embarrassed expression while Buaji and Payal watched with their mouths agape.
'Maybe life in this house wouldn't be so bad,' Arnav decided.
'All the sneaking around and hidden romance would sure be fun' he thought with a smirk.
***************************************************
An hour or two later, Arnav told the family that he'll go home and pack some of his stuff and return in the evening.
Khushi insisted that she go with him too as she was sure that he would forget essentials like his medicines.
However, Buaji refused to let Khushi go, saying it's not good for them to go out alone together...
It's not that Buaji didn't trust them. But she knew that if the two went out together too often, then tongues will start wagging in their neighbourhood, and she didn't want that for her niece.
But there was also another reason for this decision of hers.
She wanted to restrict their interactions so that she could show Arnav the advantages of marriage – or shall I say, the disadvantages of not being married?
All these days, the two had been staying together without any form of supervision... And that had given them the freedom to speak to each other, interact with each other, and go out together without any restrictions... And so it was more reason for Arnav to feel that marriage was not needed.
However, now that the two will be staying at her house, Buaji would make sure to show Arnav what it really means to be a couple who are not married. They will not be able to spend as much time with each other... They won't get much privacy... And they won't be allowed to go out together much either...
Buaji didn't want to torture them and separate them, but instead she wanted to keep them at a little distance from each other so that the process of getting them married will be quicker. After all, she too wanted her niece to be settled happily. And that would only happen when her niece would get married to this young man who, unfortunately, didn't believe in marriage.
"But Buaji, please just this one time... And plus there are a few things that I want to sort out and finish before moving on..." Khushi said slowly.
Looking at all the confused faces in the room, she continued, "Voh... I want to meet a few people..."
"Who do you want to meet now Sankadevi?" Buaji asked.
"Ummm... Voh..." she felt very nervous as she wasn't sure how Arnav would react to this. "I-I want to meet Sheetal for the last time... And I want to speak to Amanji too..."
Before Buaji could say anything, Arnav blasted, "What the?! No way!"
"But Arnavji–"
"No means NO. I'm not letting you meet that Sheetal!"
"Arnavji–" she tried again.
"Khushi. NO," he said sternly.
"At least–"
"Khushi you know how vile that woman is, so why meet her? No way am I letting you go!"
"But–" Khushi tried to argue but then got interrupted by Buaji.
"Will someone tell me what's going on?!"
"Haan, who are these people Khushi? Sheetal... Aman?" Payal asked, feeling confused too.
Instead it was Arnav who answered. "Aman was my colleague – another police officer. He is a nice man. And Sheetal is his sister."
"Arre Arnavji, these people seem nice, so why can't Khushi meet them? It's just going to be a few minutes right?" Payal asked.
And in that moment Arnav saw the same innocence of Khushi in her elder sister too. Trusting people so easily... These two girls were such a contrast to the evil world out there... And they definitely needed protection – which of course he will provide, now that he would also be a part of their family in a way. He would make sure that whoever Payal marries, will truly be worthy of her, he decided.
"That's what I thought too Payal... But... Sheetal is now in jail because she joined hands with L75 to kill Khushi," he finished.
"WHAT?!!" Buaji and Payal exclaimed together.
"Yh... Sheetal liked Arnav, but he had feelings for me... So when the chance came, she grabbed it and tried to help in getting me killed..." Khushi explained.
"All of this has happened, and you still want to go and meet that nasty girl? Khushi you are crazy!" Payal berated her little sister.
"Exactly! There is no way you are going there!" Buaji said sternly.
"But she's in jail! She can't do anything! I just... You don't understand how angry I am with her... And I couldn't even vent out my anger on her – before I knew it, everything was over... I just need to get some things off my chest... And for that I need to go and meet her for one last time..." Khushi looked at everyone, hoping they would understand.
Payal and Buaji didn't know the full details so they didn't really know how to react...
Arnav on the other hand, understood Khushi's feelings, but was still not sure whether he wanted her meeting Sheetal or not... He didn't want them to ever come across Sheetal ever again...
Seeing Arnav's undecided face, Khushi added, "And anyways Arnavji will be there with me na? When he's there, then nothing can happen to me." She said it with so much confidence, as it was a fact, making Arnav's heart swell with the confidence she had in him. And somewhere along the line, even Buaji and Payal believed Khushi when she said that.
"I leave the decision up to you Babua," Buaji said. "After all you know this Sheetal more than we do, and I trust you to take the right decision for Khushi and her safety."
Arnav simply nodded at her as he couldn't even speak for a few moments, overwhelmed by the trust Buaji put in him...
After thinking for a few seconds, he said, "Okay fine, you can meet Sheetal."
Khushi smiled, but Arnav continued, "But I have a few conditions. You will NOT talk to Sheetal alone – I will be with you every single second until we get out of that place. And you will only have 5 minutes to talk to her. We will not stay even a second later. Now tell me, do you agree?"
Khushi nodded.
"Okay fine, let's go. We'll go there first, and then we can go and meet Aman. I'll tell Akash to bring my office documents here in the evening."
With that, Arnav and Khushi bid bye to Buaji and Payal before leaving to the police station together.
Halfway through their journey, Arnav stopped the car on a lonely road without any warning, confusing Khushi.
But before Khushi could get a single syllable out, Arnav took both of their seatbelts off and leaned over to take her lips into a passionate kiss.
And Khushi's response was instant.
She kissed him back just as eagerly.
They both kissed...
And kissed...
And kissed...
Until they became breathless...
Even then, they held each other close as they pulled apart, their breaths mingling together...
Arnav hugged Khushi close, burying his face in the crook of her neck, just enjoying the feel of her... And Khushi put her arms around him, closing her eyes feeling content... She just wanted to be in his arms like this, forever.
"I won't be able to kiss you like this, whenever I want, from now on..." Arnav said, resembling a child complaining that their favourite toy is now broken.
"Hmmm... We'll find a way," Khushi said, tightening her arms around him. "Anyways, I'm yours..." She said, to make him feel better.
"That, you are," he replied with a smile, placing a kiss on her neck.
With one last kiss, Arnav pulled away and started the car again.
Through the whole journey, Khushi made sure to hold his hand.
And when they would stop at a traffic light, Arnav would stroke her cheek, or steal a quick kiss from her, keeping her red through the whole journey.
Too soon, they reached the police station. Arnav made sure to hold her hand as they went in. He didn't want to leave her side for even a second during this meet.
As Arnav had already informed the station officers that they would be visiting, they were able to go straight inside after Arnav handed in the camera and microphone from yesterday's events...
They saw Sheetal standing behind the bars.
The minute she saw Khushi, she starting crying, "Khushi! I'm so glad you're here! Oh Khushi, there must be a big misunderstanding! I haven't done anything Khushi, please believe me!"
Khushi looked at her with sympathy and stepped closer, with Arnav following closely.
"Sheetal..."
"Khushi please get me out of here," she cried.
Khushi put her fingers through the bars and tried to cup Sheetal's cheek saying, "I believe you..."
Arnav watched on shocked... And raged... How could Khushi forgive that bit** after everything damn it?!
But then something unexpected happened.
Before the other two knew it, Khushi had grabbed a bunch of Sheetal's hair and started pulling at it, taking her fingers back out of the bars along with that horrible woman's hair.
She pulled at it so hard that Sheetal screamed with excruciating pain.
Even Arnav was taken aback by the sudden turn of events, yet he did not do anything to stop Khushi.
"You witch! How dare you lay your filthy eyes on my Arnavji! And on top of that, you think I'll believe your nonsense and let you go free without punishment! What did you think huh? I came here to sympathise with you and cry for you? I came here because I wanted to give you a piece of my mind! You know, if you actually loved him, then maybe – just, maybe – I might have actually felt sorry for you. I might have even felt bad for taking away your happiness. But you know what? What you have for him is pure lust! And just for that you went to extent of doing something as cheap as mixing drugs in his drink?! I pity you for wasting your life like this by doing something so dumb! I hope that at least when you get out of jail, you do something worthwhile in your life. But I'm warning you – if you ever look at my Arnavji with your dirty eyes another time, I'll pull your eyes out!" With a final pull at her hair, Khushi let go, leaving Sheetal clutching her head in agonizing pain.
Dusting off her hands, she walked out as if nothing had happened, while a stunned Arnav walked behind her.
It was only a few moments later that his brain even started working properly again.
He had to say that he enjoyed seeing Khushi in this angry avatar... He smiled internally thinking, he'd come in thinking that Khushi would need protecting, but in fact it was that Sheetal who had needed the protecting from his possessive tigress – not that he provided it to that bit**.
He chuckled as they got back into his SUV.
Khushi turned to him as she heard him. "What?" she asked, genuinely confused.
Arnav just laughed and placed a lingering kiss on her lips before saying, "I love you my possessive tigress."
Khushi just blushed as she finally understood why he was laughing. "She deserved it," she mumbled as she looked down, suddenly embarrassed.
Arnav just laughed harder, looking at her innocent expression after almost pulling that Sheetal's hair out of her roots back there.
He leaned in and placed a kiss on her reddened cheeks before replying, "That she did."
With that, they took off to their next destination – Aman.
It seemed that Aman was at home as he was still shocked with the news of his sister having gone to jail for attempted murder and drug abuse.
The moment he saw Arnav and Khushi at his doorstep, he froze.
He didn't know what to think... Was he angry at them? Did he feel hurt? Resentment? He wasn't really sure... All he knew was that he'd lost his sister... His only family... And that too so suddenly, when he hadn't expected it at all...
After all no one had included him in this... Not his sister... Nor Arnav or Khushi... So he had no idea about the silent war that had been going on between Khushi and Sheetal until it was all over...
He didn't say a single word, but let the couple come inside and sit down while sitting down himself too.
It was Khushi who broke the silence first.
"Amanji, we came here today to apologise..." she started.
Aman didn't react.
"We know how much Sheetalji means to you... She's your family... And no matter how much we apologise, I know it won't make up for what you've lost... Ever since I met you, you've only ever been nice to me Amanji... And I feel terrible that I've become a reason for your misery. And all I can say is I'm really really sorry. We didn't have any other choice because we had such little time to act yesterday... I'm so sorry..."
Khushi apologised, genuinely feeling horrible for bringing sadness for such a wonderful man.
Still Aman didn't say anything. He just kept looking at the floor.
"I'm sorry too Aman. You've always been a good friend and colleague to me. And I held a lot of respect for Sheetal because of that too. But in these past few days, I saw a whole different side of her and by the time I find out her true colours, it was too late to give her a second chance. I can't say I regret what I've done, given the circumstances. But for YOU, I really wish things had gone differently. I'm really sorry Aman."
Still only silence from Aman.
Realising that they weren't going to get a reply from Aman, Arnav and Khushi got up to go.
Just as they were two steps away from the door, Aman spoke.
"I forgive you."
They turned back to look at him.
"The fault is my sister's. Not yours... But that doesn't mean I can talk to the people because of whom my sister is now in jail, away from me. I don't hate you. But things just can't be the same between the three of us anymore. And so I request you to never come in my path or speak to me ever again," Aman said, finally looking up at them.
The couple totally understood.
Arnav nodded before saying, "I respect your wish Aman. But if you ever change your mind, or need someone to talk to, I'm only a call away."
Aman simply nodded in reply.
And with that Arnav and Khushi left Aman's house, never to return.
Khushi felt sad that they hard to part on such a sad note... But some things just aren't meant to be... Like the friendship that would have grown between them if things hadn't taken a horrible turn...
But Khushi finally felt free of any burdens now. She felt like she had finally closed this chapter and now she was free to leave it as a part of the past... She could move on with Arnav now. And she could finally focus on them.
As Arnav started the car towards RM, Khushi couldn't help but place her hand on his.
"I love you," she told him. She just had to say it in that moment...
Arnav intertwined their fingers as a smile broke out on his lips...
His eyes twinkled with happiness as he looked at Khushi and replied, "I love you too," bringing their entwined hands up to his lips to put a gentle kiss on it.
The two were just so happy... Even Arnav felt a burden lifted off after speaking to Aman. He wished things hadn't ended this way, but he knew that this was best for everyone. But he would always watch out for Aman secretly, he decided. After all he was ASR. Aman didn't want to see him or talk to him – that was fine with him. But that won't stop him from looking out for his friend in the future.
He finally felt like everything was settling down... Yes he couldn't live with Khushi in his house like he wanted, but nevertheless he would still get to be with her, thanks to Buaji.
They soon went to RM and packed all of Arnav's things, including his medication, his laptop, some of his clothes etc.
It was surprising how much Arnav didn't know about his own room... It was like Khushi had taken complete control of his life in these few months they'd been together – not that he was complaining though.
Most of the time, Arnav was just sitting down admiring Khushi while she packed all of his things...
As soon as she zipped up the suitcase, satisfied with her packing, Arnav got up and snaked his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind, making her smile and put her hands on top of his.
He buried his nose in the crook of her neck as he just said, "Khushi." It was almost a moan... A guttural moan that set off a million sparks upon her skin as she heard the need in that voice.
The feel of his warm breath caressing her skin sent her heart racing...
"Ar-navji..." She stuttered, her breath stuck in her throat as she felt his need grow behind her...
Without a word, Arnav started raining kisses on her neck, making her gasp with the sensation...
She leant her face to the other side, giving him more access as she brought up her fingers to run through his hair as he ravished her.
Arnav had no idea what came over him, but all he knew was that he wanted her more than anything right now...
Khushi felt her knees going weak as the sensual assault messed with her mind and body...
Unable to take the sweet torture, she turned around in Arnav's arms and hugged him tight for support.
Arnav put his arm around her pulling her to himself, while he swept her hair to one side with his other hand to place kisses on her neck and shoulders – this time slowly... sensually... seductively...
Khushi moaned as she felt every body cell become alive within her at the feel of his lips...
Still kissing her neck, Arnav placed his hands on her bottom and lifted her up, making her automatically wrap her legs around his waist and her hands around his neck; their most intimate parts rubbing against each other erotically.
As Khushi's back met the wall with a thud, Arnav lightly bit into her neck making her let out a whimper which soon turned into moans as he sucked at her neck sensuously; her hands finding their way inside his shirt as she caressed his back with need, making him groan at the feel of her hands on his bare skin.
"Arnav!" Khushi moaned, needing him to kiss her... touch her... everywhere...
Hearing the desperation in her voice, Arnav moved his head up to take her luscious lips into his...
Just as their lips met, his phone rang, making them both freeze.
But then after a second of thought, Arnav just took her lower lip between his lips and sucked on it, not caring about the phone call.
But the phone didn't stop ringing. And when it did, it decided to ring again!
It was Khushi who pulled away from the kiss breathlessly and urged Arnav to pick the phone up.
Not at all happy to have his moment with his lover interrupted, Arnav let Khushi stand on the floor, still holding her to him while he fished his phone out of his pocket.
But then seeing the caller ID, his anger mellowed down... It was Buaji.
She's made sure to take Arnav's number before they'd left the house this afternoon – after all, he was part of the family now and she may need to call him in future.
He answered the call after trying to get his breathing under control, "Yes Buaji?"
"Arre where are you babua? A friend of yours has come here saying that he has brought the files that you need and he wants to talk to you regarding them. When are you two coming home babua? Have you finished packing?" she asked him.
"Haan Buaji, we're almost finished. Please tell Akash to wait there for me. We should be leaving within 10 minutes," he replied.
"Acha babua, no problem. We'll wait for you," Buaji said, before bidding him bye and hanging up.
Cutting the phone, Arnav muttered, "Buaji is definitely not going to be good for my love life."
Khushi giggled at that, despite her face having turned tomato red, partially from their hot encounter and partially from the after-effect.
Arnav just glared at her with mock anger.
But that didn't last long because after a few seconds he couldn't control his chuckle and joined her laughter.
"We should get going," Arnav said smiling, ready to pick up the suitcase and leave the room.
"Like this?" Khushi asked, shamelessly looking him up and down, a hint of teasing in her voice.
That's when Arnav looked down at himself and realised that his shirt was untucked and ruffled, with some of his buttons undone.
He touched his hair and knew at once that it must be messed up too, what with her fingers having run through them and all.
That was when he also noticed the slight burning sensation in certain places on his back – her nails, he assumed as the reason for it.
Meeting her eyes directly, he smirked.
'Uh oh...' Khushi thought as she back-tracked.
With each step he took towards her, her heart rate increased with double speed.
As her back met with the wall once more, she met Arnav's intense gaze and gulped.
"Who messed up my shirt?" he asked, huskily, his warm breath washing over her.
Khushi just blushed, but didn't answer.
"Who untucked my shirt?" he questioned, bringing his face closer to hers.
Khushi's cheeks reddened at his words as she scrunched her dress at the sides with nervousness.
Seeing the effect he had on her, his smirk widened.
Slowly, he placed his hands on top of hers to make her loosen her hold on her dress.
Then, he held her hands in each of his and brought them to rest on his shirt, around his waist.
"The person who messed it up now has to make it right," he said, his lips brushing against her cheeks as he spoke.
After a moment, seeing her make no move, he guided her hands himself and made her tuck his shirt in at the back.
Khushi was almost glued to him as she started to tuck his shirt in herself, letting her hands slide inside his pants each time she tucked in a part...
Feeling her fingers move against him, Arnav wanted to groan out in pleasure.
Just as her hand came towards the front to tuck in the last bit, Arnav held her hand, stopping her.
If she tucked in that last bit at the front, then he knew there would be no way they would be leaving the room as virgins...
They just remained in that position for a few moments, so that they could both calm down...
A minute later Arnav said, "Fix up your hair and then we're leaving... Before I take you here and now," making Khushi feel butterflies in her stomach at his raw words.
Soon enough they left the room with Arnav's suitcase.
Just as they'd come down the stairs, Dadi stepped in front of Arnav.
"Where are you going? That too with a suitcase?" she asked, coming straight to the point. No 'hello,' no 'how are you,' no 'I missed you,' – in fact nothing that an affectionate grandmother would normally ask in this situation; just a point-blank blunt question.
"I'm going to be staying somewhere else for some time," he said, not bothering to expand on his words.
"Why do you have to stay somewhere else when you have such a big mansion here?" she asked.
"I don't have to Dadi, but I want to," Arnav replied.
Giving Khushi a dirty look, Dadi said, "It's because of this cheap middle class girl isn't it? She's led you to this decision. I knew she would try and take you away from me from the minute I laid eyes on her! What black magic did she do on you huh?" Then turning to a tearful Khushi, "You must have lured him into your trap with your beauty! What did you do huh? Did you sleep with him? Girls like you are no less than prosititu–"
"ENOUGH!!!" Arnav bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls of RM, startling both Khushi and Dadi.
"If you say another word about Khushi, then you won't like the consequences," he warned dangerously. "You know what your problem is Dadi? You always believe what you want to – not the truth. That's what happened then. And that's what's happened now."
"And what do you mean Khushi took me away from you? When were you with me, for her to take me away from you? What were you doing when I was struggling through the trauma of losing my parents? You were busy trying to put all the blame on my innocent mum and defending that bast*** son of yours! You tried to brainwash me and make me think that my mum was a prostitute! That she willingly seduced with those men for money!" Khushi gasped as she heard the accusations Dadi had put on Ratna Maa. "I saw everything with my eyes Dadi, and yet you didn't care about the pain of the traumatised, orphaned teenager that I was! All you cared about was me taking forward your son's damned name!"
"The only reason I let you stay in my house is because, even if you didn't give me any love, you at least gave me a shelter at that time and you gave me food when I was hungry. Only because of that, I am taking care of your needs till this date. I couldn't save my mum from your son nor those bastards. But I won't make the same mistake with my Khushi – I won't let any negative people around her, even if it's YOU. So mind your words from now on when you talk about Khushi. Otherwise, you can pack your bags and LEAVE!"
With that he held Khushi's hand and led her outside, leaving Dadi standing there shell-shocked and angry at his threat.
Khushi's tears had dried up the minute she'd heard what Dadi had accused Ratna Maa of. All she could think was that there was something terribly wrong with Dadi.
When she could accuse a woman who had been cruelly raped by monsters, then why wouldn't she accuse her? Khushi found that she just didn't quite care about the accusations of a woman like that anymore.
But she did want to know what happened to Arnav's father though. Arnav had said that he'd lost both his parents. When he'd told her about what happened to Ratna Maa, she had been so devastated that it didn't occur to her that Arnav hadn't mentioned what happened to his father. Did he ever come back to Arnav and Dadi with money? Or did he decide to leave his son stranded?
She really wanted to ask Arnav what happened with his father, but she decided to ask him at a later time... When they would be alone and relaxed... Where she could comfort him easily...
They were headed towards Buaji's house. The journey was silent with tension.
But Khushi knew that as soon as they get to Buaji's house, he'll get distracted. So all she did was place her hand on top of Arnav's during the journey, which although he didn't react to it, he didn't push it off either.
When they entered the house, they saw Akash sitting down with some files in his hand.
Arnav got the files from Akash saying, "Thanks Akash."
"Hi Bhai, how are you?" Khushi greeted happily.
"I'm good Khushi. I hope you are better now? ASR told me about everything that happened yesterday... You okay?"
"Haan Bhai, I'm perfectly okay – your ASR made sure of it," she said, placing a hand on Arnav's arm, looking at him with love shining in her eyes, making him finally smile after all the tension.
Arnav turned to Buaji and said, "Buaji this is who I was talking about this morning. The closest thing I have to family. My friend. My brother. My well-wisher. Akash."
Akash felt his eyes sting with tears as he heard Arnav refer to him as his brother.
What him and Arnav shared was a silent understanding. They knew that they both were there for each other whenever needed, but it was something they never admitted to each other in words. They had never shared any sentimental talks or even hugged.
So hearing Arnav refer to him as a brother made Akash feel very emotional.
He just smiled, feeling his throat choked with emotion, making him speechless.
"Ahh so you are that boy! Well, do come and visit often babua! Now that Arnav is part of our family, you are too. Do come here for lunch and dinner whenever you can," Buaji said enthusiastically.
Akash and Arnav both couldn't explain in words how they felt in that moment. Both of them had lost their families at a young age. And being alone since then, deep down they had both felt lonely and had craved for the love of a family. Although they may not have shown that openly, that is the truth. And the way Buaji said that they were both part of the family made them both emotional.
Arnav just looked at Khushi, thanking her inside his heart for giving him another family, no matter how small it was...
Akash also looked at Khushi – the first time he'd met her, he'd found a sister in her. And now... through her he found a family too... He thanked God for sending an angel like her into both his and Arnav's lives...
Seeing both Akash and Arnav get emotional, trying to change the atmosphere Khushi chirped, "Okay can we finally eat now? I'm sooooo hungry!"
And as if agreeing with her, her stomach rumbled making everyone laugh.
"Khushi when are you not hungry?" Arnav asked, teasing.
"Haaawwwww!" Khushi gaped. "How dare you make fun of me!" she said angrily, her hands on her hips.
"I'm not making fun of you Khushi – sometimes I really wonder whether you love food more than me," he said, innocently.
That was it.
Khushi picked up Buaji's belan and headed towards Arnav, making him run to save his life.
Arnav ran around the whole living room, hiding behind Buaji at times, hiding behind Akash sometimes, even behind Payal at times.
And Khushi finally gave up breathlessly after a good 5 minutes of running around; her hands on her hips as she huffed and puffed, making everyone around her laugh.
There's a limit to how much a girl could run when she's hungry as ever.
Seeing her tired and breathless, Arnav came and picked her up in his arms, not caring that everyone was watching.
"Arnavji what are you doing?! Put me down!" she whispered so that only he could hear her.
"I'm picking up my woman in my arms. Any problem?" he replied, causing her to blush as he placed her down on a chair at the dining table.
Although everyone's mouth was agape at this open display of affection they didn't say anything.
Buaji was probably the only one who could berate them, but she herself couldn't get herself to do so seeing the care that Arnav had for Khushi.
Soon they all had dinner like a happy family – getting to know one another more, enjoying each other's company, making jokes together etc.
And during all this Khushi nor Arnav failed to notice the discreet glances Akash and Payal took of one another while the other wasn't looking.
'Seems like another love story is going to bloom soon!' Khushi thought gleefully.
And Arnav just hoped that everything will work out for Akash so that he too could find his happiness in life, the way he had with Khushi... And if his happiness lay in Payal, he would be very pleased – because from what he'd seen, Payal was a very nice girl. And she would be perfect for a kind man like Akash.
After an hour of lots of chatter and laughter, Akash finally left for home and everyone set off to sleep.
The moment Arnav got into his bed in the guest room, he felt bereft.
Not because the room was small or because of the lack of AC... But because there was no Khushi.
After all, now that they were in Buaji's house, Khushi would go back to sleeping with Payal. And it would be extremely inappropriate if he asked Buaji to let her sleep with him – in fact she would be absolutely scandalised!
But what was he to do? Ever since Khushi had stayed with him, he had become accustomed to sleeping with her in his arms... And now, he had no idea how he was going to sleep without her...
He groaned as he realised that it was going to be a very long night ahead.
Hey guys, I know it's been like aaages since I updated. But I've been really busy with the AD and honestly writing this chapter has been so long as well... I don't think it's turned out as well as I wanted it to, but I couldn't make you guys wait any longer. I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written! And to think that there's still another half to come, that's probably going to be just as long if not longer! I have so much writing to do!
Anyways, so how was it? I know a lot happened in this chapter – Sheetal, Aman, Arshi romance, Dadi... How was it all? How do you feel about the way things have turned out? Do you think it was the right way to go? Please please please like/comment – this is the last chapter (okay, half of it) and I reallllly would like to know how you guys think it turned out. So please do leave your comments :D