"Okay, Khushi-Ji," he hung up on her.
Khushi looked at the phone and sighed away.
Seems like no one cares about me. She thought and sat on her bed. Her face is gloomy. As if she was denied her favourite chocolate.
I don't want my party to get destroyed by your presence. She grunted not understanding why these words are affecting her. Just to hurl those words somewhere far away from her eardrums, she jumped on her side of the bed. And slept admist all the dresses that Payal threw on the Bed.
Payal. Payal Gupta-to-be-Raizada has left to Party 30 minutes back. Oh! How lucky Payal is! She sighed and turned around hiding her face into the pillow, flushing it across her face.
"Khushi-Ji?"
"Khushi-Ji?" Khushi heard NK calling out for her in his normally over-enthusiastic-voice. She jerked up on her bed as she heard a knock on the bed.
"What is Nanhe-Ji doing here? Didn't I tell him to go to the Party alone?" She thought confused.
As she opened the door of the room, she was bestowed up with a bouquet of roses. As the bouquet was flushed on her face, she took it and without any words, though she wanted to, took the bouquet in her hand in silence. Thanks to NK, as he thrust it on her face not giving any option for her to talk.
She kept the bouquet aside and looked at NK, confused.
"What happened to you, Nanhe-Ji? Why these flowers?" Khushi asked standing at the threshold of the door.
"Guess," NK smiled.
Khushi stood perplexed at his reply.
She thought for a possible reason but couldn't come up with one.
"No idea, Nanhe-Ji."
"No problem, Khushi-Ji. How is the bouquet? Tell me. Tell me," he urged.
Khushi looked at the bouquet and a big smile formed on her face. As she noticed the beauty of the bouquet now while a few minutes she was just so shocked and confused to find NK at her door that she failed to notice the beauty sitting on her arms, the fragrance touching her nose.
"It's so beautiful, Nanhe-Ji. Thank you so much!"
"My pleasure! After all, I bought it to bring a smile on your face." Khushi smiled at him.
"Com'n, Khushi-Ji. Let's go out, get ready," he said pushing her into the room.
"No, Nanhe-Ji. I'm so happy that you brought flowers to me. It made me happy. However, I'm really not in a mood to come to the party." She remembered his words. She is angry, hurt, confused and with all these feelings, it is better if she doesn't go and spoil the party for real.
"Who said we are going for the party?" He frowned.
"Then?" She was confused.
"Get ready, Khushi-Ji. It's a surprise, let me surprise you. You will enjoy," he grinned at her.
"No Nanh—" she was cut off by NK.
"No Nanhe-Ji or Kanhe-Ji, just go and get ready," he pushed her and closed the door on her face from outside.
Inside the room, Khushi is nothing but perplexed. However, she got ready as she saw no other option. NK literally pushed her away.
Party
It has been 20 minutes the party started and Arnav is looking at the entrance every now and then. Perhaps, in hope that Khushi will appear anytime soon. Poor boy! Didn't know that his words really hurt her. And tonight, he is going to get hurt.
"Bhai, Where is NK?" Akash asked Arnav as he hasn't noticed NK till now.
"Yeah, and Khushi too," Payal said that aloud, though, it was meant to be said in her head.
Akash nodded his head at her, agreeing with her not noticing the pounding lion standing beside them.
NK and Khushi? Both haven't come to the party. Are they together? As the thought pipped up in his mind, he couldn't help but grind his jaws. He didn't like the thought. His eyes saw green and red at the same time. He is pounding with anger and jealousy. Only if he could end the party and run to both of them. Hang NK! But to his bad luck, he can't. As he is the host of the party.
"Hello, Mr.Raizada." Arnav came out of his thoughts as he heard his delegate greet him. He pushed away his thoughts and greeted the man back with his usually stern face.
On the other side,
"Nanhe-Ji, where are we going?" Khushi asked for the umpteenth time from the past 10 minutes. She wore Chudidhar for a change. As she sat in the car from the past 10 minutes, NK is not replying to her any of the questions. And that is, he can answer only if he was asked another question.
"Surprise, Khushi-Ji."
Khushi sat exasperated and looked out of the window.
The journey continued as NK drive the car listening to the music and cracking jokes in between while Khushi was soon engrossed in laughing at his jokes.
"Here we are," he announced.
Khushi looked out and got down the car and was blown away with the beauty. It's a highway with trees surrounding it. And at a corner, she noticed a roadside tea stand. She was surprised. More than that content. Her eyes twinkled in happiness. Nature is so beautiful. Moonlight is adding its beauty to Nature making it look more than beautiful. The view that caught Khushi's hazelnuts is so serene. Adding to it, fireflies just took away her heart. It is a sight to watch, behold it in her heart for forever.
"How's my surprise?"
"It's beautiful. It is so...," she doesn't know what to say anymore. It's beyond her words. It's beyond her dictionary. It's way beyond everything that she just lost her voice.
"I know. And this is what I want," he said making Khushi confused.
"You are my friend, Khushi-Ji. Your name, Khushi means Happiness. I don't like it when my friend, Khushi is everything but happy," he smiled as he said this.
Khushi was overwhelmed.
"Thank you so much, Nanhe-Ji," she grinned forgetting all her hurt, anger and confusion.
"Let's go. Let's have tea enjoying the weather," as he said this, Khushi was more than ready to have a hot-hot tea and enjoy the chilling weather, beautiful vision and serene peace.
They went to the tea stall and ordered tea. They started having tea sitting on the wooden bench enjoying the music coming from the FM Radio.
As they were busy drinking tea, two people came and started dancing enjoying the weather and music. Soon, Khushi and NK too joined them. The three girls and NK danced on various songs, starting from Telugu to Hindi. All songs they heard from the Radio, they danced on it.
As they got tired, they sat down. NK and Khushi started conversing and started laughing with each other. It has been more than 2 hours Khushi is enjoying the company of NK. Khushi is happy. She is living up to her name. As they got engrossed in taking fun and enjoying it to the fullest, they lost the time sense.
As soon as the party ended, he took his SUV and drove away to the lonely roads. Perhaps, to cool down his temper. Khushi and NK, both are missing from the party. This notched up his temper. He is now a pounding lion waiting for its prey. As he was going through the lawn, he heard someone snort. His gaze went to the source as he stopped his SUV all of a sudden. As his eyes landed on the side, his blood boiled. His blood boiled hearing her laugh. How dare she?
He got out of the car and paced to the side. They didn't notice him. He got angrier.
"NK," he growled.
"Nannav, you," he mumbled. Khushi's smile died down there itself.
Night
Arnav's Room
He is tossing and turning on the bed, not getting any sleep. All he can hear is her laugh-when he is not present, and her blank face-when he came in front of her. Adding to it, her words kept revolving around his head when he growled at them for their foolishness and absence in the Party.
"You are the one who came and destroyed our peace."
"I'm enjoying my time here. I'm being happy here with Nanhe-Ji. We are chirping and laughing here. And I'm sure in your party, that was not possible."
"Don't you dare blame us. We found this road more enjoyable than your damn party."
"Why do you have to come and destroy happiness?"
"No. I'll not come. I want to be happy for some more time."
"Who told you to wait. Nanhe-Ji will drop me. Anyway, I haven't told you to stay back here."
He couldn't stop those words. He is turning again and again to find a better position to sleep. But her words seem to be not leaving him. His words were thrown back at him. How dare she accuse him of destroying their peace? How dare she indirectly told him to get out of her premises. These questions rolled in his mind as he had a sleepless night. Jealousy and Fury consuming his dreams.
The End
As I said, it's a tit for tat.
Hope you like it!