Chapter 10

It was raining, and Arnav was standing near the glass wall of his office, looking outside lost in his thoughts. His thoughts, which were prominently ruled by certain Miss Khushi Jha these days. And he was still trying to figure out his feelings for her.

Whole world knew him as a detached cold man. That was because he did not make a public display of his possessive side. A fiercely possessive side. This particular emotion was reserved for people VERY close to his heart. And he was aware that he never felt this possessiveness for any of the woman he had dated over the years. Passion yes, but not an iota of intent to make a place for them in his life. In fact they usually become unbearable after 3-4 months. Some of them were from business circle, with an intelligence to match their looks. Yet he never 'bonded' with anyone. He was a man with scandalous past and lots of emotional baggage. In order to bond with someone you have to relate with them, which he never could. Then WHY Khushi? Why he feels at home in her presence? She feels known, like a part of himself. Maybe it is because she has lived a life which other people have only pity about, just like he has lived a life which other people only gossip about. These other people don't understand how it actually feels to be in that situation.

Somewhere between avoiding him while staying in Raizada mansion and being friends with him, she evoked that possessiveness in him for herself. And the fact that Khushi was an angelic beauty, inside and out, did not help the matter. Four years back, her oval face with doe like hazel eyes, long black tresses and her alluring figure had captured his attention on the day of his di's wedding itself, where she had looked splendid in her red and yellow lehenga choli. But when he came to know about her background and her equation with Shyam jiju, the Raizada in him, the son and the brother who had suffered all his life, came to fore. And in anger he never saw anything but faults in her. He had missed looking at the actual her for past 4 years because of his bitter anger towards life, towards Arvind Mallik. Now that he thinks of it, he was more blind than angry. How could have he not noticed such a beautiful person? Of course she too did not give him much chance to notice herself either, by avoiding him and disappearing from the room where he was present at the first given opportunity. He knew about her efforts to dodge him, his di has admonished him multiple times for scaring her sweet sister-in-law.

And it was not the feeling, but the intensity of it that made him stop and think. This is certainly a record time in Arnav Singh Raizada's universe, in which he has developed feelings of this magnitude for someone. He did not know how it started but these days he notices everything about Khushi. From the color of her dresses to her different hair styles. From her non stop chatter to her heart warming smiles. The way she becomes a kid while playing with the twins to the way she becomes a matron when dealing with nani. The way she is still scared of his temper bouts to the way her huge expressive eyes twinkle when he praises her cooking. 

His lips curved into a smile at these thoughts and he started putting on his coat. It was getting dark outside, and his heart could not wait to go home.

In the other part of the city, Khushi found out that she was late for registration for next exam slot by a few days.  Had it been only her involved in decision making, she would have happily gone back home without another thought and continued her life with her angels. But with Arnav Singh Raizada breathing down her neck to appear for exams, she reluctantly registered for the next slot, some seven months away. 'Trust Arnav Sigh Raizada to give her a 'salary' to do something and then expect her to not do it'  she chuckled. But in her heart she knew that Arnavji was doing all this for her own good. He knows the value of a professional degree and just wants to help shape her career. Instead of making excuses, she should learn a thing or two from him about dedication and hardwork. She brightened up at the thought that he is looking out for her too, just like he does for his family. He is a very good friend, she agreed in her heart.

While she was waiting at the bus stop for her ride home, it suddenly started raining. She was not equipped to deal with this sudden change in weather and got totally drenched, but welcomed this unexpected gesture of mother nature with a smile on her lips. With sudden flooding on the roads, her bus got delayed too. By the time she reached home, it was Arnav's time to arrive back too, and they both entered the premises of the mansion at the same time. Him in his car and she on foot. And when Arnav saw a wet and shivering Khushi walking towards him, he could not decide whether to scold her for not taking a car with her, or to keep staring at the bewitching sight that she was making. So he settled on asking her to go and change immediately while his eyes kept following her until she disappeared from his vision.

Then it suddenly struck him  'Did she travel in a public transport LOOKING LIKE THIS?????'. And the very thought was enough to make Arnav Singh Raizada's blood boil.

As Khushi came smiling to the living room after changing and started explaining what happened at the institute, Arnav stopped her. 

'Do you want me to fire both the drivers?' he asked instead.

'Ji? Fire? Why would I want that?' she asked confused.

'Because nani does not go out these days, Adit and Adya can not go out at this age and I prefer to drive myself. So who's left to use cars and drivers?' he questioned.

'I...Don't...Know' she replied slowly, trying to make sense of this pop quiz.

'Khushi think, WHO will use these drivers?' he tried one more time.

'How do I know?' and now Khushi could not contain the information inside any more. 'But you know I went to the institute office today, and guess what, no seat was available for the next schedule of exams, so I registered for the one seven months later. And did you see how much it rained today, quite a downpour, but I looove rains and it was SOOO much fun' she completed in one single breath.

'FUN????? FOR WHOM??? PUBLIC OUT THERE???' he yelled in his mind.

'YOU, you are supposed to take the car and driver when going out'  controlling the urge to shout, he answered his previous question himself.

'Oh! But why? I am used to travelling in buses. In fact I have all the routes and route numbers by heart' she smiled smugly.

'From now on you'll go out with a car and a driver. Is that clear?' Arnav said authoritatively.

'See Arnavji, I don't want to spoil my habits. I know right now I am living here and you feel responsible for me. But I am not going to live here forever. And I will have to travel in public transport then. So I don't want to use cars and drivers' Khushi put her foot down, and missed the clouds of anger that were gathering in Arnav's eyes each passing second.

'MOHAN, COME HERE' yelled a furious Arnav as soon as Khushi finished speaking. 

As the driver came rushing to his master, Arnav announced 'You and Rakesh, come to office tomorrow to get your accounts cleared' then looked at Khushi and added 'You both are fired'.  Mohan's expressions changed in a jiffy as if a tonn of bricks had fallen on him.

Khushi also could not believe the scene that just unfolded in front of her. Did he just fire two people because she wants to use public transport? Oh God, such temper. She instantly started thinking of ways to do damage control. By the time she arrived on a decision, which was in a few seconds, Arnav was already on the stairs leading to his room. 

She rushed after Arnav and asked his retreating back 'Arnavji, can I take Mohanji with me to mandir tomorrow?'.

Arnav stopped but did not respond. 

'Oh, and I'll take him or Rakeshji whenever I go out from now on' added Khushi in order to make peace and save jobs.

Arnav did not say anything but looked sideways at her. She took it as a probable yes and said 'Mohanji, please come at 7 am sharp tommorrow'. 

The man looked at his master who nodded in affirmative. Relieved Mohan smiled in gratitude and left.

Arnav left for his room without a word after that, and Khushi still recovering from his outburst went to see the dinner preparations. 

'How dare she think that she'll not stay here? If she thinks she can leave from here, she can dream on. Who else does she know in the whole wide world now? She needs to be explained that SHE IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE. She'll stay with me, with us in this house. ALWAYS'  he thought while angrily pacing in his room. 

Just then there was a loud knock on his room's door. And next second without waiting for response the door flew open and Khushi rushed inside, looking pale as if she has seen a ghost.

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