"It's time you stay with your husband. He needs you." Arnav's intense eyes full of confidence grilled holes into her hazel orbs.
She at once extracted herself out from his hold and he let her go feeling a restless feeling building up inside him.
What he wouldn't do to hold her in his arms forever
She took a step back turned around and without a word was about to go when his next words glued her on the floor.
"You do remember what you said to Shyam don't you?"
"Tell your Sale Sahab that he needs to get his shit back together before meeting me.We may have been married but I am not coming to live with him until he gets out of his sullen state."
She turned to him and looking into his eyes said.
"I do."
He suddenly felt nervous, apprehensive.
"I accepted that term and didn't come to get you in the last two months.Now I ... I am here to get you back...as my wife." He didn't realize his last words came out as a plea but his face remain firm, confident.
"I see." She nodded.
"So..come in." She stepped out of his way and gestured through her hand to come inside.
Shashi, Garima, Akash, Payal, Buaji looked on without saying anything as Arnav entered inside followed by Shyam who greeted them politely.
Khushi smiled at him in response which pricked Arnav in the heart.She didn't smile at him like that. Ever. Yeah ever since he himself pushed her away.
You didn't do anything ever which would make her smile at you either man! Came a voice from inside him shutting his jealousy there and then.
They all settled in the living room with Arnav's eyes never leaving her face as she sat on the couch across him between her Amma and Babuji. Shyam was sitting besides him, Akash and Payal on the other two couches on their either sides.
" Bua Maasi. You didn't come to catch me outside." Pari whined coming inside running straight to Khushi.
Khushi pinched her cheek softly.
"Sorry fairy. Your Bua Massi got stuck."
"Where?" Pari's asked innocently and then her gaze fell on the two strangers in the room and her eyes zeroed on Arnav who was keenly observing the interaction between Pari and Khushi.
"Who is he Massi?" Pari pointed at him. Even the girl noticed this man attention to her Massi hence asked.
Khushi's lips thinned which didn't go unnoticed by everyone including Arnav.
His heart sank. He cleared his throat feeling suffocated all of a sudden.
"Pari bacche.. go and eat your favourite strawberries. They are on the table in the kitchen. Go!" Payal said to which Pari jumped in joy and ran away to the kitchen and in her wake everything fell silent again.
Arnav didn't know how to start the conversation.
He has felt he would easily demand Khushi to come to live with him when he would reach here and when he did all of his confidence was burning into ashes.
Still he has to gather himself he can't afford to be weak at this moment.
So he looked up into her eyes and said demanded earnestly.
"I have booked our flight for tonight. You can pack whatever you want to get from here."He said in his ASR tone.
He has learnt from the past that being weak would not get him Khushi.
Shyam shook his head incredulously at his tone.
"Arnav keep your anger and dominance in check...and impatience too." Shyam whispered for his ears which Arnav ignored.
Khushi's face was expressionless.
Akash, Payal, Buaji and Garima were holding their breaths and were scared at this calm in this hall. Maybe the calm before the storm it was?
Shashi spoke this time.
"I know she...is your wife again unfortunately Mr.Raizada. But this time everything will happen as per her wish."
"Everything IS happening as per her wish." Arnav said firmly looking into his eyes.
Shashi's anger flared.
"You don't have to be angry Sir. I am not here to fight. I am here to get her back peacefully.She promised me that if I gathered myself back together only then I can come here to meet her. I am okay now and I am here." He said the last words staring into her eyes.
He was twisting and untwisting his fingers.
For the first time ever in his life, his life, his breaths, his heartbeats depended on someone else's existence and decision.If she refused to come along with him he didn't know what he will do or can do.He don't want to hurt her now that she has become his reason to live, to breath.
"Khushi bitiya, are you ready to go with him?" Shashi placed his hand over hers who was silently listening everything without adding her perspective when it was her life which was being discussed here.
"No." One word from her mouth and earth crashed upon his head.
"But you said-" Arnav started.
"I said that you can come to meet me when you will get your shit back together. I didn't say anything about going to stay with you!" She screeched and he paled.
"You are backing off from your words." He said scared from inside.
"I am not."
"Yes you are!"
"And what if I am?" She gritted.
"If you don't want to live with me then why did you marry me?" He asked silently, defeated.
One after the other pieces of his being were crushing from inside without anyone's knowledge and it pained him like hell.
It hurts like hell
And he needed her badly to stay alive to keep standing on his feet!
"I think I answered that already."
"You want to destroy me then do it. Come and live with me.Destroy me all you want. I won't do anything." He thinned his lips to stop himself from screaming.
"For that I don't have to live with you, Mr.Raizada." She said solemnly.
"I think I am already succeeding in it ain't I?"
He clenched his jaws.
Everyone was confused what Khushi was doing and what was going on in her mind.
Everyone except for Shashi. He knows what was happening here.
Arnav's restlessness peaked.
He has waited, waited for the last 7 years, two months and 13 hours of his life for this moment.He has waited to get her forgiveness just a little bit, just a minute bit so that he could atleast get some peace, some solace from this hell of a life where every day he sleeps and wakes up remembering all he ever did to her.
Living a life like this was so painful, is so painful and he was losing himself with it.
Who was he kidding? He has already lost himself.
And now...now she refused to give him that little bit of strength which he would get when she would stay with him.He cannot let that happen.He won't.
Finally Arnav Singh Raizada lost his cool his cold exterior which he put up till now for her, in a hope to get her back ... in order to get her back just a little bit.
Silence of the hall was cut by his punch on the glass table in front causing everyone to flinch startled.
He stood up angrily his eyes red with rage.
"Agar tum aaj maire sath na ayi toh mai iss puri dunya ko aag laga dun ga..(I will burn this whole world if you didn't come with me today.)" He said pointing his index finger at her.
"Par usse bhi pehle mai iss ghar ko aag laga dun ga.Tab toh tumhe rehne k liye jagah chahiye hi hogi na toh phir tumhe maire saath aana hi pade ga..(But before that I will burn this house down and then you will have to come with me when you'll not have any other place to live in!)"
"Arnav.." Shyam stood up shocked at his behavior.
Shashi blinked his eyes at his wife , daughter and son-in-law to stay silent as they were angry at the way he shouted at Khushi right now and was glaring at her, threatening her.
But Khushi saw the man.. the same man again who has hurt her many times in those six months, years back.
He was back!
But it didn't scare her like it did at that time.She wasn't desperate for his love anymore neither was she hopeless.
She stood up from her seat and coming around the table stood facing him.
He looked at her face as if he was parched...for her.
"So the farce has broken Mr.Raizada." She folded her arms on her chest.
"Now here before me is the true Arnav Singh Raizada!"
A startled gasp left her as all of a sudden he cupped her cheeks firmly with longing palpable in his eyes.
"Why don't you understand I need you ... I need you. Badly. Terribly!" There was so much desperation in his voice that everyone present there was moved, everyone except Khushi.
"Do you remember when you stayed for getting your child back you begged to me that if I got your Rahul back then you will forgive me for everything without a second thought. But...your devi maiyya had other plans she didn't want me to have that easy escape Khushi. To punish me, to show me my real place she snatched the most important thing from you because she knew...she knew seeing you hurt because of it will hurt me more, more than anything else." He was looking into her eyes with his eyes filling up from the corners.
"For the last many years, a man like me has prayed. Yes. I finally did .An atheist like me has prayed can you imagine? I have asked to your devi maiyya to spare you. If she wants to make me pay then she can do it any other way but not by hurting you but...she won't listen Khushi. She won't listen to me.She is angry as much as you are with me Khushi..."His heart welled up.
He sniffled.
"Just forgive me a little bit please so that she listens my prayer."
Caressing her cheeks with his thumbs he tightened his hold around her face in a desperate attempt to make her understand his position as she placed her hands on his wrists to free her face from his hold but he wasn't letting her.
Shashi placed his hand on his wife's hand when she made attempt to get up to help Khushi.
"I will take you to the best doctors in the world Khushi and will give everything back to you which you have lost... because of me." He croaked with tears shining in his eyes.
"Can you get me back those six months which I spent waiting for you? For your love? Get them back then I'll come with you." She said only these few words in response and he felt like she has just sucked the life out of him.
He can't give everything back to her. At least NOT everything!
"And as far as showing me to the world best doctors is concerned then let me tell you Mr.Raizada. For the years you have been gone.. when you're in the jail I have tried that too. If I hadn't then maybe I would've felt tempted with this offer of yours. You may...you could change many things but not everything." Removing his hand from her cheeks she stepped back and turned around.
He turned her around sharply and caught her upper arms.
"Please Khushi. I am fed up."He pulled her closer to his face.
"I can't live without you anymore."He shook his head.
He looked like he would just crumble before her if he let her go.
"I can't Khushi. I-I can't." He dropped his forehead on hers and closed his eyes.
For a few seconds Khushi stayed in a trance of his hearty confession before she pushed him away gathering herself.
He looked at her brokenly.
She took a step back..another.. then another... another and then ran off upstairs.
"Arnav!" Shyam placed his hand on his shoulder from behind. "Be strong. You are strong."
He turned to him sharply and Shyam felt immense pity for him.
He looked that vulnerable.
"Strong? I am strong for the world outside Shyam not before her. That woman..." He pointed towards the direction where she just ran off. "...is my strength. She has the power to break me into pieces and she knows that.Only she doesn't know that...I am...I am..already there."
He finished with a tone which depicted so much pain that everyone's eyes misted up.
Akash stood up silently and nodding at Shashi walked to the stairs leading to Khushi's room.
"Choti.."He called out to her entering her room.
She was sitting at the edge of the bed with her eyes glued to the floor and she was breathing heavily.
He silently sat besides her but didn't say anything.
"I wanted this in those months." She spoke after many minutes, her voice was teary.
"I have loved him like this once Bhai. I would've done anything to be with him if he hadn't broken me this much that even..even after years I am still struggling to get my broken pieces together." She cried out with tears rolling down her cheeks.
"You are hurting." He stated.
"Yes I am. I AM!" She threaded her fingers in her hairs feeling helpless.
"You want to destroy him then only he should've gotten hurt not you too. You shouldn't have been affected Choti."
"What do you mean? How can I not be affected when I am dealing with a man who killed me and my child wholly?"
"Exactly my point. You should've thought it when you married him again. Now that you have, face it.Don't run away from it."
"I am not running away." She burst out standing up.
"Then why aren't you going with him? However he is.. now he is your husband."
"I didn't marry him to live with him."
"Then why did you?"
"To make him feel the pain of wait."She hissed.
"The wait which I did for him, for his love.It ended with me losing my child, losing my womb."She exhaled sniffling.
"Just like I waited for him he will have to wait for me too and that wait will never EVER end. I will never go and live with him.NEVER!" She finished and turned around and found Arnav standing at the door and the look on his face told her that he has heard it all.
"When will you forgive me?" He asked quietly.
"Will you ever?"
"Never. Even if you died.. not even then!" Her tone was so much harsh that he felt despair falling on him.
"Then why did you cry so much when I tried to commit suicide?"
"ARNAV!!!"
"You can't do this Arnav. You can't."
"He isn't breathing"
"Breathe Arnav.. Breath please!"
"You can't do this to me Arnav. I never wanted this. I never wanted you dead. I just hate you. Hate you. Please i hate you!"
"I remember each and every word you said that day. I wasn't able to move but I heard everything you said."
"I said I hate you!"
"You said you never wanted me dead."
"That doesn't mean I feel for you!" She screeched.
"You said, please!"
"OH SHUT UP!"
"You begged for me to wake up!"
"I DIDN'T BEG!"
"Yes you did. You were terrified when I wasn't breathing."
"That's your delusion. Whether you breath or not it doesn't matter to me. Humein koi farak nahi padhta!"
"You said, you can't do this to me Arnav. I can't do what Khushi? If I don't affect you anymore then why were you so shattered seeing me lifeless? Deny that and I will show you the video which was telecasted on every news channel as a proof to you!"
And that finally left her speechless.
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