Chapter 20

arshiforever123

@arshiforever123

A Twist of events Ch.18

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The next two days passed by much similar to the first. The whole atmosphere of the house constrained and silent. Anjali had only opened the door to feed and let Amana sleep and would not talk to anyone else. Everyone in the house had tried but no one was able to do anything for her. Shaila, apart from murmuring  and tiredly calling for her mother at night and asking about her whereabouts a few times a day, had barely noticed Khushi's absence, too caught up in the new house, in the new toys, the new cousins to notice something was amiss.

One evening, Arnav went to the kitchen for dinner. He set Shaila on a counter top and looked around. He didn't know what was what, what was where, what to use. He looked through cabinets, drawers, the fridge, pantry, trying to draw up anything he could to make him and Shaila some food. Soon Payal came running down hearing the clanking of dishes being thrown here and there. She was stunned to see Arnav ...in the kitchen...!

"Uhhh...Arnavji?" she stuttered. Arnav turned to face her, "uh Arnavji what are you doing in the kitchen?"

"Im making food." He said  as he took out yet another pot and examined it to see if it was suitable. Yes. This pot looked a suitable size.

"Uhm...Arnavji. You could've called me...I would've cooked...or even HP"

"No..its alright Payal"

"...its okay...Ill cook" she said hurriedly grabbing the pot and knife from him. Arnav watched her cut various vegetables as she put them into a pan and stirred them.He sat on the chair opposite the counter, his arms around his daughter who sat on the counter immersed in looking at her distorted reflection in the spoon.

"Payal...why hasn't anyone sat down for dinner today?" Arnav asked

"Umm...I guess after hearing the news of Khushi and Shyam a few days ago...the..the whole atmosphere in the house has changed. Di still hasn't come out of her room. Neither has naniji...shes just been praying all day for Di..and for you. NK has been mostly at a friends house..I think he's trying to escape this depressing atmosphere. Mamiji and mamaji and Akash and I ...we ate dinner together a while back" she said as she poured in some spices.

"Yea...I can imagine Di has been pretty disturbed by the news" he said as he looked  at the sizzling pot.

Payal stopped what she was doing and looked at Arnav.

"And you?"

"Huh?"

"I mean...Arnavji...are you...are you disturbed?"

Arnav looked at nothing in particular for a while as he spoke,

"I mean...ofcourse...I ...she left me"

"Do you really think so?" Payal probed as she resumed cooking. Arnav suddenly looked up to meet her gaze.

"What?" he asked confusedly

"I mean...do you really think Khushi would do that? Leave behind her daughter and husband for another man?"

Arnav looked at her, unsure what to think.

Payal set the wooden spoon she was holding and rested her palms on the counter.She looked at him as she spoke.

"Khushi and I grew up as girls taught to have strong beliefs, with strong morals and values. Our amma and babuji would never let us forget that our values..."

Arnav looked in space for a while, doubts biting into him. Was...was he wrong?

Payal set down a plate in front of him,

"just...just think for a moment Arnavji...you've made this mistake once before; accusing her of something she hadn't done, don't make the same mistake again" Payal said softly and walked off.

Arnav looked at the plate of food in front of him as his mind wandered to Khushi. What was Payal was saying...was she implying that there was more than meets the eye here? That Khushi wouldn't leave him and Shaila?...But...But he had heard her say it from her own mouth...

His thoughts were interrupted with the clang of a spoon falling on the ground and his daughter looking up at him,

"papa...duduu(milk)"

"dudu?...Acha..." Arnav said as he got up and warmed some milk for her and poured it in a bottle. She drank milk from her bottle while Arnav ate his food, consumed in his thoughts. Once Shaila was finished drinking, she ate tiny snippets of his food from his plate. He looked at her making small morsels with her small fingers and putting it in her mouth. He smiled lovingly at her.

Arnav entered his bedroom with Shaila walking in front of him. He really needed to get her a crib he thought. He would have made her her own nursery but ...he didn't have the heart to leave her alone...now that her mother had left...

Khalid kaka came in to change her diaper as Arnav went to change into his own clothes. Once he was done, he turned on his laptop to work a little as Shaila played with the stars hanging from the ceiling. He watched her closely, looking at Khushi's stars in awe. She lay on her back as she swung the stars back and forth.

"Papa...these are so pretty" she said

"I know..."he replied as he thought fondly of Khushi.

"You know papa? Mama had the same ones..just like these in our old house."

"yea...I know"

"How do you know?" she asked sweetly

"Because...your mama loves stars"

"Because she says...its her mumma and papaa" she replied cutely

"mmm"

She turned on her tummy and faced Arnav,

"but my mama and papa aren't stars"

"We all will be one day..."

"Even me?"

"Even you...but it will be a long time from now"

Once he was finished sending some emails, he cuddled in with his daughter. He watched her as she fell into a deep slumber. Her light snores told him that she was fast asleep; he snuck out of the bed and walked to the French windows.

He opened them and stepped in the frame. Light drizzles of rain fell across his face soothing him. He looked out at his vast garden, one that he had tended to ever since they moved to RM. As his gaze swept over the various plants and colourful flowers, it stopped at a dark, velvet rose. Arnav didn't know why, but it stood out amidst the other roses. This one was a deep red, like the color of blood. He walked up to it, slightly intrigued by it. He touched it, and felt a smooth, velvet sensation run across his fingers. He walked towards the pool and dipped his feet in the water. The slight drizzles of rain so light that he barely noticed. He set his head back and just thought. Thought about Khushi. It had only been 3 days, but it felt like the longest days of his life. Without her, he was sure all his days would go by like this. The only light shining on his dull life would be the smiles of his daughter. The carbon copy of her mother, except for her deep brown eyes, exactly like his mothers.

His mind wandered to Payals earlier words,

you really think Khushi would do that?

Leave behind her daughter and husband for another man?

you've made this mistake once before

don't make the same mistake again

don't make the same mistake again

don't make the same mistake again

don't make the same mistake again

don't make the same mistake again

His mind repeated those words in his head until he whispered it out to himself,

"Don't make the same mistake again Arnav" he said to himself.

He jolted up. Payal was right. Something was wrong. Something was way off. He thought about those interactions between Khushi and Shyam at his apartment. How Khushi had backed away from him, looked at him with utter disgust and repulsion, washed her hands with his slightest touch.

Then his mind drifted to them two nights ago. He had made love to her. It was perfect. Just, utterly beautiful. He could count the number of times he had been intimate with her on one hand. Twice. Yet, he remembered her every curve, every feature, every freckle, every mole, every scar. He knew how her body had changed after giving birth to Shaila. She had become more curvy, had fuller breasts, she had...become a woman. She had changed from a pale, skinny beautiful girl, to a curvy, perfect beautiful woman. His woman. It dawned on him that he would never want anyone else. Only her. Only her.

She was his. Not Shyams. Not anyone else's. His. She was his in every way known possible to man. She was his wife, his lover, the mother of his child. She could be no one else's.

And that's when the realization hit him hard. That she had accepted it. That she had also given herself to him. She was intimate with him, and Arnav knew...he just knew that Khushi wasn't the type of girl to sleep with a man and claim to love another the next day. He may have thought so otherwise before but now, everything was clear to him.

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